RWBY: A Fox's Tale
by TorchPhilosopher
Summary: Why was he abandoned as a newborn on the doorstep of an orphanage? That is the question that plagues Conway, a fox Faunus determined to discover the secret of his parentage. Armed with the knowledge that his father was a Huntsman and wielding a versatile Semblance, he must learn to thrive in a hostile world that hates his species while seeking the truth of his origins.
1. A Stormy Night

**Prologue; A Stormy Night**

_Disclaimer:_ _I don't own anything but my own OCs and the scenarios I put them through. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth. Any music whose lyrics are used is property of their respective owners and those who license them. I make no profit from this whatsoever. _

_Well, here it is; my first piece of Fanfiction. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it will never be abandoned, nor will I make any promises about regular updates. Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm a college student who works a full time job. All I really know for sure is that I have this planned out to the end of Volume 2 as of the time I write this. After that, well, who knows? I certainly don't. _

_Fair warning, this story is going to be OC-centric. It follows along roughly the same timeline as RWBY canon, but starts quite a few years before the canon storyline and follows a different narrative path. Some liberties have been taken with the backgrounds and abilities of several characters. _

_But you're not here about any of that, so I won't waste any more of your time with the Author's Note. _

_If you're a returning reader, a few things are going to be a little different. A majority of the names used are being changed, and some other things have been edited because it will make the story better. _

_Hope you enjoy!_

Rose O'Sharon was woken from her sleep by a monstrous thunderclap. Adrenaline surged through her veins, awakening her in a splintered second. The middle-aged woman quickly inhaled several deep breaths in an effort to calm her pounding heart. Rose glanced at the digital clock that sat on her nightstand. Four o'clock in the morning, she read with a slight groan. Wonderful. Just as she managed to relax her tensed muscles, she heard the tell-tale patter of rain beginning to fall. Rose lay back down but a soft sound instantly took away any chance of her returning to sleep anytime soon. It was a sound that she and all the other workers at the orphanage were intimately familiar with.

The sound of an infant crying.

The sound was faint, much more so than it should have been, considering the wards that held the youngest children at Saint Oum's Orphanage were quite close to the rooms the orphanage workers shared. It was very faint, and sounded like it was coming from outside of all places. Her roommate, a younger deer Faunus named Wisteria Vero, had left their window partially open the day before to try and entice a cool breeze to meander through the stuffy rooms. The air conditioning unit had broken down earlier that week during a record setting heat wave. Thankfully, the temperature had gone down somewhat over the past few days but it was a rather uncomfortable experience for all the orphanage's residents, especially the youngest, who were a particular responsibility of her and Wisteria. She had been working at the orphanage for ten years, ever since she had retired from Vale's military, far longer than most of the other staff members, barring the owner, a man by the name of Siarnaq Moon. He, himself, was on the older end of middle aged. Rose had called the unit's manufacturer and, as theirs was still under warranty, it would be repaired sometime soon. Hopefully.

Rose was shaken from her musings by another faint cry. She had no wish to awaken Wisteria, who possessed the remarkable ability to sleep through nearly anything, save for the slight creaking the floor and doors made, so she quietly slipped out of her bed and gingerly picked her way across the wood floor. She paused just long enough by the door to slip her light robe on over her pajamas and slide a pair of worn, but still comfortable, slippers onto her bare feet. After she grabbed her keys from the hook next to the door, Rose eased the heavy door open and cringed a bit when it creaked. Wisteria mumbled something incoherent in her sleep and rolled over. Rose gently closed the door and heaved a gentle sigh of relief as she ran her hand through her light red, nearly pink, hair that was streaked with gray.

Her escape complete, Rose made her way to the front entrance of the orphanage. She briefly paused by the heavy wooden door, just long enough to put her copy of the orphanage key into the lock as the wailing intensified. Rose pulled the door open and looked around. She soon caught sight of a small basket tucked into the corner of the door alcove. Inside the basket, wrapped up in a green blanket was a tiny baby who was currently screaming its little lungs out, obviously terrified by the storm. There was a glass bottle filled with milk tucked in beside the child's right hand and on the other side was a small stuffed fox with dark orange fur. The pink-haired woman quickly dashed over to the basket, crouching down to shield the child from the ice-cold raindrops falling down from overhead. Gently picking up the screaming infant, Rose paid no attention to the water that soaked straight through her clothes, casuign the sodden fabric to cling to her thin frame. Another peal of thunder drew her attention away from the infant, the sound eliciting another cry of terror from the bundle securely in her arms. She glanced down the street just in time to catch a brief glimpse of a figure with light gold hair and wearing a dark cloak swiftly rounding a corner. For a single moment Rose considered braving the worsening storm and following the mysterious figure, but a third thunderclap reminded her of the fearful infant that writhed in her arms. Rose carefully held the child close to her breast with one hand while she bent and retrieved the basket before she went back inside, closing the door behind her with her foot softly so as not to wake any of her charges.

Rose retrieved the still-warm bottle of milk and the stuffed fox from the basket and then put the basket itself by the side of the door where it would be out of the way for now. It required some minor juggling, but she had soon shifted her precious burden to a more secure hold. The fox tucked into the crook of her other arm and the bottle in her hand. Her brow crinkled in sympathy as the baby continued to wail, obviously terrified by the cacophonous noise of the thunderstorm outside. The pink-haired woman gently rocked the writhing child, saying softly, "Poor little thing, you're just afraid of the big noise and the rain, aren't you?" The infant gave another squall in response, so Rose quickly began to sing a soft lullaby that she hoped would help calm the baby.

_"__Little child, be not afraid  
The rain pounds harsh against the glass  
Like an unwanted stranger  
There is no danger  
I am here tonight"_

The baby's wails and screams started to taper off while Rose continued to sing. She walked in slow circles, gently rocking back and forth. The little tyke finally opened its eyes, and revealed a pair of dazzling grass-green orbs that looked up at her with guileless innocence and plaintive need. She offered the bottle of warm milk to the baby and breathed a soft sigh of relief when the child latched on and began to nurse.

_"__Little child  
Be not afraid  
Though thunder explodes  
And lightning flash  
Illuminates your tearstained face  
I am here tonight_

_And someday you'll know_  
_That nature is so_  
_This same rain that draws you near me_  
_Falls on rivers and land_  
_And forests and sand_  
_Makes the beautiful world that you see_  
_In the morning"_

Rose gently brushed the blanket away from the child's face, revealing a full head of very fine pale gold hair, as well as something she had not expected. Two somethings, in fact. She stifled a surprised gasp when a pair of golden fox ears, tipped with tufts of white fur that graced the top of the child's head were unveiled. A Faunus child? What was one of those doing here in Patch? Rose didn't know of any Faunus families in the area, only one or two individuals, neither of whom were foxes. That ruled out this child being the offspring of a local family. The infant, who was apparently displeased with her unplanned pause, stopped drinking its milk, scrunched up its tiny face and looked about ready to start crying again. Rose quickly picked the tune up where she had dropped off, rocking gently to sooth the child. The bottle was nearly empty anyway, so Rose tucked it next to the stuffed fox under her other arm.

_"Little child  
Be not afraid  
The storm clouds mask your beloved moon  
And its candlelight beams  
Still keep pleasant dreams  
I am here tonight_

_Little child_  
_Be not afraid_  
_The wind makes creatures of our trees_  
_And the branches to hands_  
_They're not real, understand_  
_And I am here tonight"_

As Rose continued the soothing lullaby, she watched with amusement while the baby managed to wriggle one pudgy arm out of the blanket. Tiny fingers grasped a lock of her pink hair and tugged. She smiled in response and gently tapped the baby's nose with her forefinger, receiving a gummy smile and a laugh for her efforts.

_"And someday you'll know  
That nature is so  
This same rain that draws you near me  
Falls on rivers and land  
And forest and sand  
Makes the beautiful world that you see  
In the morning"_

How could anyone abandon such an innocent little baby, Rose wondered while she gently loosened the blanket that was still wrapped around most of the child in her arms. The end of a long fluffy tail covered with golden fur and a white tip that matched the infant's ears was briefly revealed before she gently wrapped the blanket around both of the baby's chubby arms. A plain white envelope fell out of the blanket's folds, which she caught before it could fall, nearly dropping the empty bottle in the process.

_"For you know, once even I_  
_Was a little child_  
_And I was afraid_  
_But a gentle someone always came_  
_To dry all my tears_  
_Trade sweet sleep the fears_  
_And to give a kiss goodnight_

_Well, now I am grown  
And these years have shown  
Rain's a part of how life goes  
But it's dark and it's late  
So I'll hold you and wait  
'til your frightened eyes do close"_

The infant's eyes slipped shut as she sang the final two verses, mindful of the promise those words gave.

_"And I hope that you'll know_  
_That nature is so_  
_This same rain that draws you near me_  
_Falls on rivers and land_  
_And forests and sand_  
_Makes the beautiful world that you see_  
_In the morning_

_Everything's fine in the morning_  
_The rain will be gone in the morning_  
_But I'll still be here in the morning"_

Rose carefully balanced the now-sleeping infant in the crook of one arm while she opened the envelope that had fallen out of the little tyke's blanket. There were two objects inside, a single sheet of plain white paper, folded in thirds, and a small, thin blue gem tied to a strip of leather cord. Rose put the strange necklace back into the envelope before she looked at the folded sheet of paper. A cursory glance showed that it was a letter. Wary of what she might find, but unable to resist her curiosity, Rose unfolded the sheet. The letter was written in an elegant flowing hand, but the intricate words were smudged with what Rose could only assume were tear stains. There were only four lines;

_His name is Conway. _

_His father was a Huntsman._

_The necklace belonged to him._

_Please tell him not to look for me.  
_

Rose folded the letter and jammed it back in the envelope with the necklace. She nearly wept in sympathy for the tiny baby in her arms as her arms clenched around his fragile body a bit more tightly. From the looks of him, he was barely a week old at most, his father was gone, and his mother either did not want him or felt she couldn't take care of him. Judging from the way he had been abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage directly before a summer storm set in, the reason was probably the latter.

"I thought I heard someone singing."

Rose turned to look for the one who had spoken, and saw her roommate leaning against the doorway that led to the stairs.

"Whatcha got there?" The deer Faunus asked as she limped over to her pink-haired friend. She was rather cute, Rose admitted to herself, with her large deer ears sticking out from the sides of her nightcap, and long brown hair with bangs that framed her heart-shaped face. The younger woman wore an open dark green robe over her pajamas, which were covered with deer hoofprints and had a picture of a buck with six-pointed antlers on the chest. The younger woman's limp was caused by the injury that had ended her career as a Huntress of Vale. From what little information Rose had been able to coax out of her about the incident, she had taken a young Deathstalker's poison stinger to the leg while covering for a teammate. The poison had rendered her leg lame and nearly crippled her ability to use her Aura offensively.

"Wisty! What are you doing here? How long have you been there? Did I wake you?" Rose fired off, talking softly to try to avoid waking the now-named Conway from his slumber in her arms.

"In order; yes, watching you sing that kid to sleep, long enough to hear most of your lullaby, and yes, you woke me when you closed the door earlier."

"Wait, what?" Rose said incredulously, "How is it you can sleep through thunder loud enough to wake _me_ up, yet you are woken up by a door closing?"

"Perks of being a Deer Faunus. Nature doesn't often wake us up," Wisteria replied in a nonchalant tone while she took a closer look at the baby in Rose's arms. "So, who's the little cutie?"

"His name is Conway, according to this letter that I found in his blanket. I'm afraid I don't know who his family is, but I doubt they're locals, unless more Faunus have moved to the area recently." The former soldier said as she continued to rock the baby.

"I don't think any have, at least not that I know of. I could ask around for ya, if ya like. Can I see the letter?"

Rose carefully passed the envelope to Wisteria, who took it from her carefully, not wishing to disturb the sleeping Conway. Her brown eyes scanned the four lines quickly, before she folded the letter again and slipped it back into the envelope.

"Welp, looks like we have another little faun to take care of," she paused for a moment, one of her ears twitching in what could only be amusement, before she continued with a wry smile, "Though I think in this case, little kit would be more appropriate. Come on, let's put him to bed. We can sort out the rest in the morning."

Rose stifled a yawn. Wisteria looked at her friend, with concern written on her features. "Here, pass him to me. Don't want you falling asleep holding a kid."

Reluctantly, Rose did as the younger woman requested, "What about you?" she asked once Wisteria had the baby Faunus safely in her arms.

"You know me, once I'm up, I'm up for good, or at least the next eight hours. Go get some sleep, Rosie. I know those kids really wore you out earlier. I'll keep an eye or two on little Conway."

Rose hid a yawn with her hand. She knew the deer Faunus was right, the younger children had really run her ragged with their constant need to be corralled. Reluctantly, Rose started walking back to their shared room. She knew Wisteria would take good care of their newest ward, and she was feeling drained after the adrenaline from her abrupt waking had passed. She felt every single one of her forty-odd years of life as she quietly made her way back through the wards of sleeping children and slipped through the door to her own room.

The deer in question watched her roommate disappear back down the hallway before she carried the sleeping infant to a nearby room. The pair was soon settled into a comfortable rocking chair set up for this specific purpose. The orphanage had its fair share of infants and toddlers, mostly the offspring of Huntsmen and Huntresses who had died in the line of duty. Wisteria sighed softly. At least Conway would be in good company, though she did worry about how the little Faunus would be treated by the other children, none of whom were Faunus. She, like almost all Faunus, knew that humans rarely, if ever, accepted those who were different, especially the youngest ones. Like all Faunus who lived with humans, she knew what it was like to be discriminated against and singled out for being different, and she knew in her heart that this little one would not have an easier time.

"I'm sorry, little one, but I'm afraid you're in for a rough time," The infant in her arms squirmed in his sleep, as if in response to her gentle sentence. "But it'll get better. It'll take time, and more than a fair bit of luck, but someday, you'll find people, not just other Faunus, that will accept you as you are. Just like I did."

Conway simply squirmed again in response and settled more comfortably into her arms.

_Lullaby lyrics are from 'Lullaby For A Stormy Night' by Vienna Teng._

_Admittedly, I don't know a lot about how orphanages work._

_If you feel like it, drop a review and let me know what you think!_

_Coming next: Growing up Faunus_

_See you then. _

_TorchPhilosopher_

_Thanks to my lovely Beta Reader: Alsc Petrelli Winchester Stark_

_Fun Fact #1: Conway literally means 'yellow hound'  
_

_Edited 11/20 Changing names and a few details here and there.  
_


	2. Growing Up Faunus

To Be A Huntsman Chapter 2

_Well, here's Chapter 2. A little later than I hoped for, but I've been busy lately. Warning you ahead of time, this chapter contains scenes of children bullying other children. I found it difficult to write, but it is necessary for the story. _

_Again, I don't own anything but my OCs and the situations I put them through. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth, and any music is owned by whoever it happens to be owned by. _

Growing Up Faunus

The late afternoon sun shone through brilliant red and orange leavesthat decorated the trees dotting the small playground near Saint Oum's Orphanage. Its gentle rays offered light, but only sparse heat to warm the late autumn day. Pure laughter filled the crisp air as children ran and climbed over once brightly colored playground equipment, long faded from exposure to the sun over the many years it had graced the park.

One child, however, sat separate from the rest of the group at the base of one of the stout oak trees located at the very edge of the park. Like the other orphans, he was dressed in worn but still serviceable clothing. He wore a plain dark blue shirt and dark tan pants with cargo pockets that were slightly too long for his short legs. The bottom cuffs were caught below the heel of his battered black sneakers, worn from use throughout the years and slightly too small for the growing boy. The footwear was obviously second or third hand but was well-maintained, if a bit discolored. A faded**,** slightly ragged black bandanna tied around his upper right arm completed his outfit.

The boy edged his way around the trunk of the tree, hoping to escape the watchful eyes of the four orphanage workers who had been unlucky enough to draw the short straw that morning and became the assigned chaperones for their rambunctious charges. Once he was certain he was safely outside the caretakers' purview, he brushed his shaggy hair out of his face, mindful as ever of the gold fox ears that adorned the top of his head. He took pains to keep his ears folded down where they might be lost in the thick golden mane he called his hair. He even refused to let any of the matrons or other orphanage workers cut it any shorter than its current length, which rested just above being unmanageable. Conway sighed softly. He really should try and find a hat or something more permanent than keeping his ears down all the time. It hurt after a while. He wasn't certain that a hat would be much better, but at least with one he wouldn't strain his ear muscles as much. Now, however, he elected to let his ears perk up. After all, there was no one around to see and make fun of them.

A slight gust of wind that swirled the fallen leaves upward in front of him brought the young fox Faunus out of his inner musing. Grass-green eyes glanced around furtively before their owner pulled a flute from under his too big shirt. The instrument was a simple thing, made of bamboo with seven holes spaced a bit too far apart for his small hands to completely reach. This was a source of endless frustration to the young boy, despite assurances that he would grow into the instrument. Its length was smudged with his small fingerprints and the larger ones of his teacher.

Conway knew that Wisteria and Rose, as well as some of the other, less pleasant workers, would not be happy if they found out he had taken the flute out of the orphanage. The deer Faunus had given it to him for his sixth birthday after she found him playing with it in her room. It had been nearly two years since the caretaker had found the then five-year-old Conway in her room with the flute in his hands. He had been doing his level best to use the instrument to play a simple tune that he had taken to whistling. With a shake of her head, Wisteria had just sat down next to him and taught him how to hold the flute properly, as well as how to play the notes to his song correctly. Conway smiled at the memory of that lesson, the first of many that the two had shared.

Turning the flute over in his hands, Conway savored the smooth feeling of the worn bamboo. Giving the flute an experimental twirl, he enjoyed the sound the instrument made as it spun. It made him feel as though nothing else in the world mattered, especially the loneliness that gnawed inside of his heart. Ever since the only other Faunus child in the orphanage had been adopted by a family that lived outside of Vale's borders, Conway was seen as the anomaly among the 'normal' children at the orphanage. As such, the other children tended to leave him alone because he was a Faunus, and therefore, according to the more vocal among them, a freak.

He hated that word. At least, he hated it as much as any child could hate something. He hated how it made him feel he was worth less than the human children, and he hated how something as simple as being different could lead to such open scorn. All he wanted, all he yearned for, was someone, _anyone_, his own age to simply _listen_. Maybe then they would see that they were not so different after all. He shook his head, dispelling the darker thoughts that swirled viciously through his mind. That was neither here nor now, and it was pointless to dwell on past hurts and scars. He brought the flute up to his lips and gently blew on the top hole. His fingers smoothly flowed through a series of well-practiced motions, dancing lightly over the lower holes. The little fox Faunus closed his eyes reflexively and quickly lost himself in the bright, happy tune he had played hundreds of times before.

He must have sat there for at least an hour, under the stately maple tree and moved his fingers in a rhythm that no one else seemed to hear. He had long since exhausted all of the traditionally composed music that he knew, and now simply played what _felt _right to him. Others might have called the resulting sound discordant, but to Conway's ears, it was beautiful.

Conway was so focused on making his music that he didn't notice the four older children approaching his tree until one of them stepped on a dry twig that broke with a sharp _snap_. The young Faunus abruptly stopped playing and huddled against the tree's broad trunk. His tail wrapped itself around his ankles as tightly as he could, for all the good he knew it wouldn't do, and his fox ears drooped back down to hide in his thick hair. He carefully clutched his flute to his chest protectively, hoping against hope that the boys would simply leave him alone today.

These four boys who had managed to sneak up on him were the most obnoxious bullies ever to grace the small community of Patch Island, and it seemed they had made it their personal mission to make his life miserable. Anything from harassing him whenever they caught him outside the safety of the orphanage, to dragging him into the woods and leaving him to find his own way out, or just plain ganging up on him and beating the daylights out of him, these four had done it all. No amount of punishment would deter them for long, and they always found new ways to torment him, as well as any other children they deemed 'worthy' of their attention, especially his fellow orphans. They had even caused several of the younger wards of St. Oum's to be sent to the hospital on three separate occasions.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, boys?" Conway's eyes narrowed in response to Daryl Redbrand's mocking query. Daryl was the strongest of the four bullies, and by that logic, their enforcer. Though he was, by far, not the smartest of the bunch. He was a stocky boy of around twelve years of age, with dark brown hair and light blue eyes. His father was an officer of the Patch Police Department, which went a long way towards explaining Daryl's contempt of the law. He was simply acting out in response to his father's disciplinarian methods, and because virtually the only times he got to see his father was when he did something wrong.

"Looks like a lost little fox kit," Zephyr Seabreeze, leader of the four bullies, stated as he moved in on Conway's left side. Zephyr was taller than Daryl by a good four inches, and older by several months, but he was leaner of build. He was usually the one who came up with the more inventive 'games' that the troublesome boys would coerce others into 'playing' with them, such as, 'pin a tail on the Fox,' or 'Huntsmen and Grimm,' only the 'Grimm' were usually unable to fight back by virtue of being either tied up or otherwise incapacitated. The slender brunette had a quickly-developing vicious streak approximately a mile wide and it only grew as time went on. Zephyr was the nephew of a junior member of the Vale Council, one Sirocco Seabreeze, and as such, enjoyed a high degree of protection from local law enforcement. Conway glanced at the third boy just in time to see him start talking.

"Playing with his mummy's flute, oh wait, I forgot, you don't have a mummy, do you, little fox?" That was Axle Spark, son of a weapons merchant who had moved to Patch four years prior, and had become fast friends with Daryl and Zephyr. Conway gritted his teeth in suppressed anger as his face flushed with humiliation and shame at Axle's hurtful comment. He could feel tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes, but he angrily blinked them away. The fox Faunus refused to cry from such little provocation anymore, knowing that such a reaction was what the bullies wanted. He tried to ignore them, like Wisteria had always told him to do when someone made him feel bad with their words.

_'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me…'_

Kiroi Kumo, toady extraordinaire, who mostly stayed to the sidelines and rarely directly took part in any of the other three's activities, kept a wary eye on the rest of the playground, despite most of the other children having left already with their respective chaperones. Conway privately thought that Kiroi only stayed with the other three out of a justifiable fear that they would turn their attention to him if he spoke out against their actions. Though Conway could understand Kiroi's self-interest, it was of little comfort to the favored victim.

Conway clutched his most precious possession tightly against his chest, "Please just leave me alone." He knew this was the reason Wisteria and Rose had told him to never take his flute out of the orphanage grounds, and was beginning to _really _regret disobeying them.

Conway was too distracted by his own thoughts to notice Daryl's incoming fist until it was too late to do anything but flinch. Stars exploded in his vision as he was sent sprawling, his tail flared out behind him and his hands opened on reflex, sending his flute spiraling to the ground. The slender piece of bamboo hit the mulch, bounced twice, and landed several feet away. Conway tried to scramble after it, but he was stopped by a heavy foot slamming down on his tail. He couldn't help but let out a yelp of pain when Daryl pressed down harder with the toe of his shoe. Thankfully, he wasn't wearing his favored hiking boots today, Conway thought, before a fresh spike of pain burst from his tail. What most people don't know about Faunus is that their animal features contain many more nerves than those found on their animal counterparts. Most researchers agree that this is because most Faunus use their animal appendages for more and different purposes than their animal contemporaries, thus the appendages in question require a greater degree of flexibility and a heightened sense of touch. Whatever the reason, suffice to say that stepping on a Faunus' tail caused them a great deal of pain.

Conway redoubled his efforts to escape when he saw Zephyr pick up his flute. The older boy held the slender piece of varnished bamboo with both hands as he looked down at him, watching him struggle in turns to shift Daryl's foot off of his tail or to get his beloved flute back.

"Give it back!" Conway begged, "Please don't break it!" his protests were quickly halted in favor of breathing by a sharp kick to his ribs, courtesy of Axle. Conway felt something crack when the older boy's pointed shoe hit his ribs. Each gasp was an exercise in pain as Conway desperately tried to keep from screaming.

"Oh, what's that? You want me to break it? Now why would you want me to do a mean thing like that, little fox-boy? Doesn't it belong to one of those other filthy Faunus that works at that orphanage?" Zephyr asked, releasing the flute with one hand to tap his chin with one finger. "I thought you animals stuck together more than that. Guess I was wrong."

Before Conway could make more than a single noise of protest, Zephyr took hold of the flute with both hands again and with a swift jerk, broke the instrument over his knee. It made a sickening cracking noise as the fox Faunus's eyes widened in disbelief and pure grief.

Conway sobbed, tears finally escaping his eyes. "Why? Why would you do that!" he demanded in a broken voice, his struggles having all but stopped when he saw his most precious possession broken, despite the growing pressure on his tail.

"The question isn't _why_, freak, it's _why not?_" Zephyr sneered condescendingly, "Do you really think we'll get any _real_ punishment for this? Hell, far as most of the _humans_ on this island are concerned, the _Faunus_ can all go and…"

While Zephyr was delivering his hateful tirade, Daryl ground his shoe further into the smaller boy's tail. The fox Faunus cried out in agony when he felt something give in his tail with a harsh crack. As he gritted his teeth and screamed, Conway felt a rush of _something,_ some warm, unknown energy surge through his body. Instinct led him to release the burning rush of force, so he wrestled what felt like a large amount of power from his very core and released it. Whatever Zephyr was going to say next was brutally swept aside by a near solid wave of concussive _force_ that burst from the tormented form of the sobbing Conway with a low _boom_, and threw all four of the other boys away. All five boys were showered with splinters and bark that were blasted from the tree that concealed them from the rest of the playground, and the tree itself lost all of its brilliant leaves in one fell swoop. The broken pieces of Wisteria's gift fell from Zephyr's hands just before he too was sent sprawling across the grass and into a prickly holly bush. Conway grabbed the flute, heedless of the thin splinters that stabbed into his hands and cradled the remains of what was once his most precious possession close to his chest, curling up into as tight a ball as he could while still sobbing. He was exhausted after releasing that power. His tail, now with a pronounced crimp, was wrapped around his waist. All that could be heard from him was sobbing and repeated pleas for his tormenters to go away and leave him alone.

The four other boys picked themselves up with some difficulty. Daryl struggled to his feet and nearly collapsed when he put his weight on an obviously sprained ankle. Axle, who got off the lightest with only a few scrapes, moved to support his larger friend, while Kiroi lay unconscious under a nearby tree, after having hit said tree.

Just desserts, like fate and karma, can be a bitch. And this had been a long time coming.

"What the hell was that?" Daryl asked aloud as he and Axle limped over to their leader and helped him out of the shrub. Both boys took hold of one of their leader's protruding legs and quickly pulled him back into open air.

"I dunno," Axle replied, "But whatever it was, that little fox freak did it."

"We should stop him from doing it again!" cried Zephyr. The three bullies who remained conscious limped closer to the curled form of their victim, but hesitated when they heard him whispering.

"Go… 'way… Leave … m'alone…"

"Sorry freak, but I'm afraid we can't do that," Zephyr began, little of his confidence lost since the sudden and painful introduction of his face to a holly bush. "If we let you go, who knows what innocent people you could use your power on. We'd be doing the world a favor if we just… put you down here and now." The tall boy drew a balisong with engraved metal grips from his pocket and spun it open while he carefully advanced. "Like a mad animal is meant to be."

"Leave me alone…"

Daryl, supported by Axle, grabbed Zephyr by the shoulder before the taller boy could get any closer and said, "Maybe we should just leave him alone for now, Zephyr. I mean we already hurt him enough for today…"

Zephyr rounded on his friend. "Don't tell me you actually feel _sorry _for this vermin, Daryl! Uncle Sirocco always told me that if you start something, you damn well better make sure you finish it! If you're too much of a coward to stay and finish what you started, fine! I'll just do it myself!"

Daryle glanced at Axle. The wiry boy shook his head, and the heavier boy turned back to their friend and said, "If that is what you're going to do, I can't stop you. But Axle and I will have no part in murder. That is going too far, and you know it Zephyr. Just walk away."

Zephyr growled in anger and gripped his knife harder. "Fine! But when I'm finished with him, you're next!" Before his now-former friends could respond, Zephyr shrugged off Daryl's hand and continued his walk to Conway. Daryl and Axle limped over to the unconscious form of Kiroi and, with no small difficulty due to Daryl's ankle, managed to pick him up and start carrying him away.

"Here foxy foxy, I've got a gift for you…."

"Leave… me… alone." Conway murmured, with increasing volume as Zephyr stalked closer.

Six feet.

"Leave… me alone."

Five feet.

"Leave me Alone!"

Four feet.

"Leave me ALONE!"

Conway's last cry was punctuated with another, smaller burst of force that blasted the bully clear off his feet and into the same tree that Kiroi had hit earlier. Thankfully, this blast had more direction than the first, and caused little more collateral damage than ruffling a few leaves. Zephyr hit the trunk awkwardly with his right arm and slid down to the ground clutching his elbow. The joint had swollen to nearly twice its original size. Conway didn't claim to be an expert on the matter, but he immediately suspected that the joint was merely sprained or dislocated and not broken. Zephyr's balisong had fallen from his grip in the confusion, the sharp blade carved a gash through Conway's left fox ear as the Faunus had uncurled when he released the second burst. Shakily getting to his feet, Conway's left hand clutched the bleeding wound. Crimson blood stained his golden hair and blue shirt with thin rivulets of red.

With hands that shook with exhaustion, Conway reverently placed the broken parts of his flute on the ground. Wincing from the thin splinters of bamboo that stabbed his hands, he picked up Zephyr's discarded butterfly knife and staggered a few steps toward the whimpering bully with a vengeful look in his dull grass-green eyes. Zephyr whimpered in pain and fear when he saw his former victim's mouth set into a grim line as he inevitably stalked forward, each step bringing more and more terror to the other boy.

"Please, stop, I didn't mean it! It was just a joke! Please don't hurt me!" Zephyr pleaded while he inched away as fast as his broken arm allowed. He looked into the younger boy's eyes and was shaken to find no mercy or forgiveness there, only cold anger and vindictive fury. They were the eyes of a person who had been pushed too far, which, Zephyr belatedly realized, perfectly described the little Faunus currently holding his knife.

Conway stopped for a moment, seemingly considering his former tormentor's request before asking in a quiet voice that sent shivers down Zephyr's spine, "How many times did I ask you to stop, and you never did?" His entire body was hunched over, as if tensing to spring, "How many times did I beg you and your friends not to hurt me, only for you to do it anyway? Huh?" Conway practically snarled, "How! Many! TIMES! And now you have the nerve to claim it was all a _joke_!" He let out a dry laugh that held no humor, "What about those times you put those other kids in the hospital? Were _those_ jokes too? No. You don't get to say that! Not after everything you've done." Conway ignored Zephyr's terrified squeak and drew his arm back, "You'll never hurt me, or anyone else, ever again!" The fox Faunus lunged forward, his borrowed knife leading the way.

Time seemed to slow down as the knife approached Zephyr's chest. Conway was so close to his unlooked-for revenge, he could practically taste it. However, when the knife was less than four inches from its target, Conway was surprised to see and feel a hand, much larger than his own or Zephyr's, clamped firmly around his outstretched wrist. That hand, predictably, was attached to an arm which in turn was connected to a man. He had a narrow face with a hooked nose and fierce yellow eyes that most would call handsome were it not for the wide, angry-looking scar that marred his right cheek just beside his eye. If he weren't crouched down, Conway would say that he was fairly tall. He was wearing a dark gray coat with red cuffs and shoulders over a lighter gray shirt that hung rather loosely from his narrow shoulders. Conway caught a glimpse of white metal bracelets beneath the coat's sleeves. A flame-red shemagh was loosely wrapped around his neck, and his legs were clad in a pair of sturdy-looking blue jeans that were tucked into a well-worn pair of brown leather boots. A silver necklace in the shape of a pair of eagle feathers hung around his neck. A black hat with a wide brim and a neck string that rested atop his feathery-looking white hair completed his outfit. Conway glanced at the man's waist and saw two handles, one on each hip, but couldn't quite make out the weapons themselves in the fading light, beyond the fact that they were vaguely L-shaped with an extra protrusion that extended below the shorter leg of the L. The man allowed the two boys to study him for a few moments before he spoke.

"You don't want to do that, kit," Conway stared at him incredulously; his arm relaxed and fell to his side, still loosely holding the knife. Normally he hated when people called him _kit_, but coming from this man, it felt more like a term of endearment than the typical insult. "It might feel good to get him back for hurting you," The man continued softly, "But in the end, all that does is prove to everyone that you, and by extension, your species, are no better than people like _him._" As the man spoke, he carefully took the open knife from Conway's hand and gingerly folded it shut before handing it back to the fox Faunus. It went without saying that Zephyr wouldn't be getting it back.

The man turned his fierce yellow eyes to Zephyr's cowering form. "And _you_. Never hurt this boy again. Don't ever even go near him again. And tell your little friends too. Are we clear?"

Conway saw Zephyr's eyes flared with anger, apparently briefly forgetting about his badly sprained arm, which Conway knew from experience was almost as painful as his own broken tail, because the older boy snapped back at the man without much fear. "How dare you order me around! Do you have any idea who you're talking too? I am Zephyr Seabreeze, the nephew of Sirocco Seabreeze, one of the members of the Vale Council!"

The man's features adopted an angry scowl at Zephyr's words, his yellow eyes flashed with a tumultuous maelstrom of pent up aggression that emitted a nearly visible golden glow that _burned_ into the bully's brown orbs with promises of pain should his will not be carried out. Conway fought the urge to run, hide, and curl up into a ball again, not necessarily in that order when he felt the Huntsman's nearly tangible fury. The bully barely had time to squeak in terror before the man stood up, then grabbed him by the front of his jacket and hoisted him bodily off the ground with the kind of strength normally reserved for dedicated bodybuilders or mothers lifting fallen trees off of children.

Conway's heart stopped for an infinite moment when the suddenly much scarier man turned to look at him. His heart calmed down when the man pulled out a folded white handkerchief and handed it to him before returning his attention to the older boy struggling in his grasp. "Use this to stop the bleeding kit, this won't take long." Conway nodded hesitantly and took the proffered square of fabric. He gingerly pressed it against the bleeding slice on his ear, stoically ignoring the fresh pain that action brought while he concentrated on making himself as small as possible, lest he gain this stranger's ire. Almost without thinking, he slipped Zephyr's balisong into his pocket. Zephyr had at this point started to cry, having apparently finally come to the conclusion that this was a situation that his uncle couldn't get him out of.

With a slight growl that sounded more like a soft angry screech, the man said, "Now you listen to me, _boy_. I don't care who your uncle is, and even if I did, then do you honestly think he would be proud to call you his nephew? I've heard of you and your little friends; and I have to say, I've never seen a worse group of delinquents in the entirety of Vale. And trust me; I've seen a lot of delinquents in my time. If your uncle wants to cause trouble, tell him that Ákos Altair, first class Huntsman and former leader of Team ASPN sends his regards. Now get out of my sight before I get _really_ angry."

Conway stifled a gasp when he heard Ákos declare his name and team allegiance, just before the Huntsman punctuated his last remark by tossing the injured boy away from him. Team ASPN had been made up of four of the skilled Huntsmen and Huntresses from the previous generation, next to the equally renowned Team GATE that had graduated at the same time. Wisteria and Rose had told him and the other orphans stories about the near-legendary Teams that had single-handedly bested several hundred Grimm during the defense of one of Vale's smaller settlements, including two previously undiscovered species and a trio of Ancient Grimm.

Zephyr landed in an undignified heap several feet away. He scrambled to his feet and took off running; heedless of the holly bush that scratched him again as he ran past into the network of streetlight-lit roads. The only thought that filled his mind was the insistent _need _to escape from the tall man.

Conway watched Zephyr run away with a sense of grim satisfaction, then looked back at Ákos with caution in his eyes as he held the reddening cloth up to his hurt ear. "Good riddance," The tall man huffed, before turning his attention back to the young Faunus who was staring at him. Conway cautiously backed up a pace or two; after all, if the Huntsman was willing to hurt a human child, what were the odds that he wouldn't hurt a Faunus too?

Ákos crouched down to Conway'slevel, but stayed a respectful distance away from the skittish young Faunus. "Easy, kit. I'm not going to hurt you. Can I take a look at your ear? I'm no healer, but I know a thing or two about patching up injuries. Comes with the territory of being a team leader, ya'know? Gotta know enough to take care of your team if your medic is down. That's happened to my team more times that I'd like to admit, but then again... Sienna might not have been much of a fighter, but she was a dam- uh, darn good medic."

Conway backed up slightly more when Ákos started talking. He wanted to run, to hide, to be somewhere safe, somewhere that his ear didn't hurt, but his mind was hazy from the significant pain that wracked his young form. He wanted to let the older man help him, but… "How can I trust you? Even though you made him leave me alone, Zephyr's got friends that are happy to hurt me because I'm a Faunus..."

"You mean those three boys I saw limping away from the park a few minutes ago? I was passing through when I heard what you did to that boy." Ákos remarked. Conway's sharp eyes watched the Huntsman as he surreptitiously checked his pockets. "I seriously doubt any of them will pick a fight with you from now on. I'm kinda impressed, actually. I haven't seen many people, Human or Faunus, unlock their Aura as young as you, and much less discover their Semblance at the same time." Ákos pulled a small bundle from one of his cargo pockets before he continued, "Ah, there it is. Knew I had some first aid stuff somewhere." The Huntsman paused for a moment, and then added, "And why would I want to hurt you for being a Faunus when I am one myself?"

Conway cocked his head to the left, despite the twinge of pain that shot through his head from his sliced ear. Conway ignored the feeling for now; there were more important things to think about right now. "Aura? Semblance? What are those?" He asked, before his mind registered Ákos' last comment, "Wait a second…. You're a Faunus too?" Suspicion etched itself across his features, "You don't look like one."

Ákos tipped his hat at Conway, "Ákos Altair, Senior Huntsman, former leader of Team ASPN, and falcon Faunus, at your service, kit. We avian Faunus tend to have an easier time with racism from humans, except for those fortunate enough to be born with wings." Ákos quickly glanced over his shoulder, and Conway saw something unrecognizable flash through the older Faunus' eyes, "No one can really tell that we're Faunus, unless we tell them or they take the time to notice. All I've got now is the eyes and feather hair." The Huntsman gestured at his long hair. Conway looked at the white locks and saw that what he had thought was hair was actually a thick collection of fine, downy feathers. "Let me tell you, it makes getting a haircut an exercise in pain. Usually I just molt." Conway noticed Ákos glance up at his ear, but before he could make any comments, he suddenly felt himself losing his balance.

"Kit, I promise I'll answer all your questions but first, please let me help you." Ákos pleaded, his golden eyes were alight with concern as Conway, his body beginning to tremble from exhaustion, swayed before he toppled over completely. Conway squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for impact, but instead he found himself caught by two wiry arms that gently laid him down, mindful of his painfully crimped tail. Conway couldn't repress the pained whimper that rose from the back of his throat when he felt a hand gently take hold of his damaged appendage as it feebly twitched.

Conway was dimly aware of Ákos' voice as the Huntsman smoothed out his tail fur. "This is going to hurt a bit, please just bear with me. It'll feel better when I'm done."

Before Conway could protest, he felt a strange heat, beyond that of the Huntsman's hand, flow through his tail, directly on the break. It was a gentle, soothing heat that felt vaguely like sunlight. Conway could feel the small bones in his tail shift and he winced slightly when there was a brief flash of pain as they knit together. The warm energy ceased, and Conway cautiously opened his eyes and looked at his tail. A happy smile lit up his normally somber features as he watched his tail sway back and forth without any pain. Before he could say anything, Conway felt the same warmth flow over his left fox ear for a moment before the appendage was carefully wrapped with a bandage.

"Thank you…" The fox whispered while Ákos gently wrapped the formerly broken section of Conway's tail with another bandage. Ákos carefully took hold of Conway's hands and started to pick the bamboo slivers out with a small pair of tweezers.

"You're welcome kit. Be careful with your tail for the next week or two. I used my Aura to help bolster your healing since you used so much of your Aura when you activated your Semblance, so those bones will be a bit more brittle than the others in your tail 'til they finish healing on their own. It looks like your Semblance uses a lot of Aura." Ákos stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Or maybe you just used it instinctively?"

"I just wanted them to go away and leave me alone," Conway yawned, exhausted by the stressful events of earlier.

"Sounds like a textbook case of instinctive activation…" Akos stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking at the small boy before him. "You see, in times of stress, a person's Aura can surface and act on it's own, usually manifesting as a protective field. For someone to force their Semblance to manifest at the same time as their first Aura activation is pretty rare."

"You keep saying 'Aura' and 'Semblance,' but what are they?" Conway asked curiously, cocking his head to the side while ignoring the niggling feeling of exhaustion that crept through his limbs. This was far more interesting then exhaustion, and who knew when he would get another chance to talk to a Huntsman in person.

Ákos cupped his chin with the index finger and thumb on his right hand, "Hmm. Let's see, the best way to describe Aura… It's sort of… a kind of energy produced by all life that has a 'soul,' unlike the creatures of Grimm that you may have heard of," Conway nodded his head, following along, "It can protect you from things that try to hurt you, and with enough practice, or in a desperate enough situation, it can be used to attack as well. Everyone who uses Aura has a special ability that no one else has, called a Semblance. Some people think that a person's Semblance is directly tied to their deepest desire. For example, my Semblance is called Repulsion, and it allows me to push things away from me."

"Then what's mine?" Conway interrupted impatiently, the excitement written over his features was a welcome change from his earlier fear and pain.

Akos chuckled, a deep hearty sound before ruffling the younger Faunus's hair gently, ignoring his annoyed squawk, "Well, based on what I observed, your Semblance could be something like Force or Sound. However, I personally think it is Sound, considering the affinity you seem to have for music, if that broken flute is anything to go by." He pointed at the shards, gesturing at them as though they were of great importance. Which they were to the young kit in front of him.

Conway's excitement faltered at the mention of his destroyed instrument, and he glanced down at the splintered halves of his beloved flute where he had dropped them earlier. Ákos seemed to notice his _faux pas_ almost immediately, and said, "Ah… Dust.**"** He ran his hand over his face in contrition, "Sorry kit. I should have realized that it was yours," The Huntsman said apologetically before patting his pockets, apparently looking for something again. Conway barely paid any attention to the older Faunus. He was still too wrapped up in the loss of his flute, and his near murdering of one Zephyr Seabreeze. That was a memory that would not soon fade.

Silence enveloped the pair before, "It was my first birthday present…" Conway whispered.

The younger Faunus was distracted from his growing sadness by a short cry of triumph from Ákos. The blond glanced up at his protector with a quizzical look on his face, and saw the older man holding a small, grey plastic card with the number 200 stamped on each corner and a capital L with two lines passing through its center in the middle. Currency. Ákos pressed the Lien card into Conway's hands and gently folded the boy's fingers around it.

"Here, take this, kit. Get yourself a new flute, or whatever you want with it."

Dumbfounded by Ákos' display of generosity, Conway didn't know what to do. The orphanage never had enough left over for allowances for the children in its care, so Conway had never had any experience with currency before. He'd never even _seen_ that much money in one place before. "I can't take this, it's too much…" He tried to push the card back into the older Faunus' hands, but he was forestalled by the Huntsman holding up a hand in an unmistakable gesture of refusal.

"It's yours, kit. I won't take it back. If you don't want it, then throw it away."

"Oh... OK... Thank you," Conway murmured then slipped the card into his pocket.

The falcon Faunus's eyes softened, "You're welcome, kit. I'm just sorry I didn't get here in time to stop them from breaking your flute." Ákos pulled a small pocket watch from an interior coat pocket and glanced at the time before he continued, "It's getting late. Where do you live, kit? I'll take you there before I go."

Conway shuffled his feet nervously before he replied, "I live at Saint Oum's Orphanage, not too far from here." A panicked expression took over his features, "Oh no! What am I going to tell Wisteria and Rose about the flute?"

"Leave that to me, kit. Least I can do."

With uncharacteristic shyness, Conway glanced up, his bangs slightly covering his eyes. "Re-Really? You'd do that for me?

"Of course I would. We Faunus need to stick together and stand up for each other, because most of the time, no one else will. If I've got the strength, why not use it to look out for someone who needs it?"

"Does that mean Faunus just need someone to stand behind and believe in? Like an alpha?" Conway asked. Maybe Faunus were more like pack-minded animals than people realized? Conway's train of thought was interrupted by a lighthearted, chirpy laugh from Ákos.

"Nah, kit," The Huntsman began, "What you and all us Faunus need to do is get strong enough that no one like those four can ever push you around again. Then, when you've done that, you take that power and reputation and use it to protect others who need it. That is what it means to be a strong Faunus. Not just that, though. Having and using the strength to protect others is what it means to be a Huntsman." Ákos grinned and looked at the boy, "At least, that's how I've always thought of it."

The boy had fallen asleep leaning against the tree. The elder falcon Faunus stifled a chuckle and picked up the snoozing boy, shifting him so that Conway's head rested on his right shoulder.

"Ah well. Not all speeches are great, I guess. I'll have to tell him again later."

_Author's Note: _

_Well. That was a tough scene to write. Contrary to some people's belief, I am not a monster, despite having portrayed one in a highschool stage production. Gotta say though, most of this scene was unplanned, and it turned out way darker than I intended it to. Thankfully, I think this will fit in better than I had planned. For anyone who might actually read this, Ákos is a Turkish name that literally means 'white falcon' and Altair can mean either 'bird' in Greek, or 'soaring one' in Arabic. His coat is inspired by Dante's from the newer DMC. If you have any questions, feel free to launch me a PM. _

_ Let's see what happens next time in To Be A Huntsman, Chapter 3: School Days _

_Fun Fact#2: I am not a musician, but I have done a bit of research on instruments. For anyone curious, Conway's flute is based off of a Japanese flute called a shinobue._

_Fun Fact #3: I have no idea what the currency looks like in the RWBYverse. Since I'm not sure what the exchange rate of Lien to Dollars would be, I'm just going to go with a 1:1 ratio. And because the only forms of Lien we see are the card things that Roman has or that Emerald stole in the Season 2 opener, I'm just going to make the assumption that paper currency is a thing of the past, and all lien only comes on either preloaded cards (like gift cards), or as something akin to a debit card. _

_Fun Fact #4: This is probably not going to be the standard chapter length. _

_Fun Fact #5: These are definitely going to be a thing._

_Special thanks again to my ever patient beta reader, Alsc Petrelli Winchester Stark, who is currently sitting on another chair reading Supernatural Fun Facts out loud. _

_Thanks for reading! If you feel like it, please drop a review. _

_Edited 11/20/2016. Changed some names, did a bit of an overhaul on some grammar. __  
_


	3. Passing the Years

RWBY: A Fox's Tale Chapter 3: Passing the Years

Conway twirled his balisong absently as he waited to be called in to the office of one G. Goodwitch of Beacon Academy. The tricks and spins he could put the weapon through had long since been taken over by muscle memory even in his non-dominant right hand, allowing him to turn his attention to other matters. Which, in reality, were more like daydreams. He had trained and studied hard for the past eight years, all for chance to go to one of the most prestigious academies in the world, and now, all that stood between him and his acceptance was this final interview. Granted, the method through which he gained said interview was unorthodox, but the important thing was that he was here. Ordinarily, the headmaster of Beacon interviewed all prospective students personally, but for reasons unknown to him, he had received notice that his interview would be handled by the deputy headmistress instead. That put him slightly on edge. Without stopping his twirling, Conway shrugged absentmindedly. Not really his problem, he didn't care who conducted the interview, so long as it was done.

It had been eight years since that day in the park. Eight years that were much brighter for him than the eight years before them, for it was on that day that he gained his first teacher.

The now-sixteen year-old Faunus had grown considerably. He now stood at a respectable (for his age) 5'8, and had a light, thin frame covered in wiry muscle. He wore a faded brown hooded jacket open over a dark red shirt with his black bandana tied around his left bicep. The piece of cloth had only grown more tattered over the years, but Conway refused to dispose of the first gift he ever recieved. His legs were covered by a pair of dark blue jeans with cargo pockets, and his feet were shod with a pair of worn loam brown ankle high boots. He also wore a wide belt with a plain steel buckle. Attached to the belt was a quick-draw holster on his right hip, and a small pouch for balisong on the right. Around his neck was a soft grey scarf, which had been a gift Ákos picked up in Atlas nearly three years before. The blond had also obtained a soft, black cap with a stiff, rounded visor and a flat top, which did an admirable job of hiding his ears. The cap was decorated with several patches, including one which took up an entire side. It was of a black quarter note set on a white, hexagonal background, which he had adopted for his own use. His tail was likewise hidden, through the use of several yards of narrow cloth bands that he wrapped tightly around his entire tail, before he wound it around his waist, under his shirt. It had taken him several months to adjust his center of gravity when he first started hiding his Faunus features, yet now he could easily pass as a human. He still let his tail and ears out when he was back on Patch, mainly because everyone there already knew of his species.

It wasn't such a big deal, Conway mused. The only other people he knew from his hometown that attended Signal Academy were that one hyperactive red-cloaked girl and her buxom blond half-sister. He thought their names were Yin and Rubicon, or something like that. Not that it mattered, considering he took great pains to avoid them, or the younger one in particular.

Strapped to the outside of the prospective student's left thigh in a custom made quick-release holster was his primary weapon in its standby mode. It was as beautiful as it was deadly, a slender metal flute covered in intricate designs of plants and leaves. Within its seemingly delicate casing lay a razor sharp blade of adjustable length and one of the more smallest Dust infusion systems built outside of a Schnee, Mikado, or Sparrow lab. While impressive, the system had many limitations, such as insufficient storage for the volatile material which necessitated refills of powdered Dust every so often or use of smaller Dust crystals, which could jam the system, and as a consequence, the inability to contain more than a single type of Dust at a time, unlike some of the more complex 'revolver' style systems utilized by other students. The self-made weapon was still Conway's pride and joy, as well as the envy of several of his fellow sword-wielding students from Signal Academy. He looked down at it with a fond gaze.

He called it _Spritely Whisper_.

While still waiting for the office door to open, Conway reflected on the events of the past eight years that led up to this moment, more for nostalgic reasons than a real need to review his reasons for becoming a Huntsman.

True to his word, Ákos had spoken to an understandably frantic Wisteria and Rose in the sleeping Conway's place. The two had been rightfully concerned about their missing charge and had already called the Patch Police Department just before the veteran Huntsman had arrived with a dozing Conway nestled securely in his arms. The falcon Faunus had then told the interviewing officers (who happened to include Dawson Redbrand, Daryl's father) that he had witnessed Zephyr assaulting Conway, only to be stopped by the emergence of the fox Faunus' own Semblance, and how he had stepped in before the situation escalated further. Dawson was horrified to learn of his son's involvement in this crime and mentally promised himself that he would talk to Daryl when he returned home, a talking-to that Daryl would never forget and one that would, hopefully, shape him into a better man.

The officers had quickly departed after taking statements from both Ákos and Conway, who they reluctantly had to wake up in order to get the full story of how the four boys had cornered him with no provocation. A dark look had flashed across Dawson's features when he first heard of how deeply his son was involved in the attack and he had promised verbally to both Ákos and Conway that Daryl would not go unpunished for his actions. The police officers were surprised when Conway had begged him to show some leniency due to Daryl trying to convince Zephyr to leave him alone. Dawson had agreed to consider it, but he promised that Daryl would not get off scot free. Dawson was true to his word. Conway saw Daryl, along with Axle and Kiroi, performing community service in the local park for the next three months with a probationary officer watching their every move. Having gotten a real taste of consequences their future actions could affect their lives; those three hadn't bothered any of the other children since. Conway had even heard rumors from the other children and some of the caretakers that Dawson had taken the boys to the Black Cloud Maximum Security prison and shown them what happened to those who break the law. The three boys had turned over a new leaf then and there.

The matter of Zephyr Seabreeze, however, was entirely different. As Ákos had expected, the boy had run straight to his uncle and thrown a tantrum of massive proportions. He demanded that the Huntsman be punished for his 'grievous actions' and 'the threat of harm upon his innocent self who had been minding his own business when the brutish animal appeared.' As a result, Ákos was suspended from the ranks of the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Vale for a period of six months. Privately, Sirocco told Ákos that he supported the falcon Faunus' actions, but his hands were tied, since technically, Ákos had attacked Zephyr with, as stated in the report, 'little to no provocation'. The veteran Huntsman simply stated neutrally that his reason was worth it and thanked the Councilman for the vacation time.

There was a more permanent consequence that arose from the 'Seabreeze Incident,' as Ákos came to call it in later years. The entire corps of Huntsmen and Huntresses in Vale was prohibited from adopting children, as, in the words of the Vale Council 'to do so would present a conflict of interest in our kingdom's most essential men and women.' It was on the heels of this news that Ákos began his extended leave. Unsurprisingly, he chose to take it on the island of Patch.

The falcon Faunus had become something of a fixture on Patch Island after that. Even after his suspension was over, he still found reasons to stop in at St. Oum's and soon, all of the children at the orphanage started to see Ákos as one of their own. This was helped by him sneaking in sweets and reading them stories whenever the other caretakers were too busy. Conway, as well as Wisteria, both looked forward to their fellow Faunus' visits. The deer Faunus had been quite taken with the veteran Huntsman after the second time he unexpectedly dropped by the orphanage after his suspension, this time with the express purpose of visiting Conway. The young fox Faunus, along with the other orphans, began to think there might be something going on, by the weird way the deer Faunus acted around Ákos. Why did her face get so red? Was she sick or something?

For his part, the young boy was ecstatic that Ákos had decided to stick around for a while. Ever since he had awakened his Semblance, the other children had gone even further out of their way to avoid him. Despite attaining the status of local hero for stopping the bullies' reign of terror, Conway was as alone as he had ever been among those his own age.

Who needed them, anyways? He had always been fine on his own before, hadn't he? Conway knew the answer to that question was a resounding 'no,' but there was little he could do to fix it. He resolved, if the other children wanted to avoid him, then he would not attempt reach out to them either. Conway withdrew into his shell, much to the dismay of both Wisteria and Ákos.

Conway quickly learned that his Semblance was indeed Sound, as Ákos had suspected, and it granted him complete control over sound waves. Despite that ability, the finer application of said control was nearly impossible for him without some kind of focus. Luckily, he had already put in two years' worth of training on one such focus.

The broken flute that Wisteria had given him, the pieces of which were now safely stored in a small box under his bed might have given him more control over his ability, but it was irreparable. Even if it were not, utilizing the flute for controlling his gift would have been impossible due to the limitations of the instrument itself. He needed something different, something stronger.

After taking him to a doctor to insure that no permanent damage had been done, Wisteria had taken Conway to a small music store the day after he was attacked. At the store, he used the Lien that Ákos had given him to buy a new, sturdier flute. This one was made of metal and had intricate carvings of leafy vines laced around its length. It was roughly the same length as his old one but it felt like it was made for his hands alone. From nearly the moment he had his new flute, he had been practicing the use of his Semblance while Wisteria looked on fondly. She would look less fondly on him over the next few weeks as tiny cracks and holes began to mysteriously appear in the walls, floors, ceilings, and windows.

With Ákos' help, Conway learned that it was nigh impossible for him to use his Semblance on a small scale or with any degree of control without his flute. Many boulders on the beaches of Patch Island were sacrificed to obtain that information, and it was only due to the elder Faunus' own Semblance that he wasn't harmed by any stray sonic bursts or flying debris while the fox boy learned how to use his power without being in life-threatening situations. Conway eventually progressed to the point where he was able to make small sonic waves and bursts at random frequencies with little accuracy and direction, but he never quite managed to equal the explosive results of his first Semblance activation. With his flute, on the other hand, Conway was more easily able to control the frequency and direction of his sonic bursts, but at a substantially reduced power level. It wasn't the perfect balance, but it would have to do, at least until he gained more experience.

Two years after Conway awoke his Semblance, Rose took him aside and explained to him how he had come to be a ward of the orphanage. She told him that she was retiring and that she wanted him to know the events of the night he arrived at St Oum's. Rose told Conway about how she had caught a glimpse of the person who had left him on their doorstep and gave him both a description of her, and the letter that had been tucked into the blanket he had been wrapped in. Conway cried himself to sleep that night, knowing that his mother had abandoned him. The last thing that Rose gave him was the necklace that the note stated once belonged to his father. It was a simple thing, just an irregularly shaped sliver of semi-transparent blue crystal with a thin copper wire threaded through a small hole near the top, which in turn held the ends of a long strip of leather cord. Conway counted it as one of his most prized possessions, and had almost never taken it off since he had received it. It was a way for him to connect with the man he never knew. Carrying it around felt almost as if his father was there with him.

It was after Rose had given him his father's necklace that Conway approached Ákos while the falcon Faunus was in town for one of his semi-regular visits and asked the man to help him follow in his father's footsteps as a Huntsman. Upon hearing Conway's desire, Ákos had agreed almost immediately and taken the boy under his proverbial wing. Ákos thought that was incredibly funny and used that turn of phrase whenever he possibly could. Starting that very day, the veteran had begun to teach the younger Faunus the skills necessary for his chosen career.

The first lessons concerned firearms, his area of expertise. The falcon Faunus' own weapon, a set of dual tonfa named Sturmblitzer, was simple as far as Huntsman weapons went. Both weapons concealed a short shotgun barrel, fed by an ejectable cylinder filled with Dust munitions. However, the veteran Huntsman refused to train Conway how to fight the same way as him, citing that it was important for all Huntsmen and Huntresses to be unique in their fighting styles. It was a way to keep the Grimm on their toes and have an edge if their teammates ever went rogue. However, Ákos did consent to teaching Conway what he knew about hand-to-hand combat, though the falcon Faunus did not claim to be a master, he did know enough to get by in a pinch.

On Conway's twelfth birthday, Ákos gave Conway his first real weapon. A handgun. Of course, he made sure that Conway knew the weapon was not a toy, and if he misused it, there would be severe consequences. Conway accepted the responsibility that the handgun represented and he promised Ákos that he would try his best. The older Faunus spent the rest of that day teaching Conway how to aim, fire, and maintain his new weapon. The gun itself was an elegantly simple affair. It had brown wood grips on its angled handle, while the trigger, guard, and its two barrels were made of black metal with silver jacketing over the top barrel. This same jacketing was also present on the butt of the handle, covering the magazine opening. The lower barrel was able to utilize elemental dust, while the upper barrel was primarily used for more conventional ammunition. The two barrels were also able to split apart to facilitate cooling and the entire unit was modular in design, allowing for different parts to be used for multiple effects. Conway named it _Blitz_.

Wisteria nearly had a heart attack when Conway brought his birthday present home that day. Needless to say, Ákos walked around the orphanage in near stealth mode for a long time after that. Even though she was now a civilian, the deer Faunus could still pack one hell of a punch when she wanted to and her words were even sharper than the knives she threw at the falcon Faunus that day. And that was how Conway learned that knives could be thrown.

Another year later, when it became clear that Conway could learn little more from Ákos in terms of combat due to the latter's insistence that his student learn his own way of fighting, the falcon Faunus had signed Conway up to take classes at Signal Academy. Of course, he'd had to persuade Wisteria to allow it, and he wasn't exactly in the deer Faunus' good graces since the handgun incident. Ákos persevered and eventually Wisteria gave her (reluctant) blessing. She had been promoted at St. Oum's, and was now in charge of the older children's educational plans. Ákos secretly paid Conway's tuition costs using money he gained as mission rewards. It was around this time that Conway started to hide his Faunus heritage in an effort to blend in with the mostly-human student population.

For the most part, his efforts were successful. Most of the other students left him alone, just as he left them alone. Wisteria and Ákos both worried that he would become too isolated, but Conway vehemently refused to get any more involved with other students than he absolutely had to. The fox Faunus would give the reason that it was easier to be lonely than it is to be betrayed or left behind. The deer and falcon Faunus both knew that he was referring to the loss of Rose, who had died of a lingering sickness earlier that year and the time his first true friend was adopted.

On the first day of Signal Academy's new semester, tragedy struck. A group of radical Faunus who claimed to represent the White Fang, a peaceful Faunus rights organization, set off a bomb during a high-profile meeting attended by the CEOs of Sparrow Technologies and Mikado Enterprises, along with several high ranking members of the Vale Council and their families. Most of the Mikado family was killed, barring Mei-Hua, the family matriarch who died mere hours later, and Amber, the heiress-apparent turned actual heiress, who was only saved by the her Semblance manifesting. The Sparrow family was slightly more fortunate in that all of them survived, albeit grievously injured. Two Council members were killed, while a third, one Soren Caeli, was crippled, along with his daughter.

A high-ranking White Fang member, a Horse Faunus by the name of Shinka Shiranui, came forward on the Fang's behalf, condemning the radical group as extremists, but the damage to the Fang's reputation was already done. Most of their credibility had been lost with that single act of terrorism, causing the old guard and leader to be forced to step down, leaving the younger and more aggressive members to take charge.

Several weeks after that incident in Conway's first Weaponry class, the teacher, a rather odd (and probably drunk, if Conway's nose was accurate) man named Qrow Branwen, took one look at him and declared that the best weapon for him would be a straight sword. After class, the hidden Faunus tried out several swords of the type recommended and found that they were indeed comfortable for him to use. However, Conway did not want to carry around such an unwieldy weapon and immediately started drawing up plans for a collapsible sword. His first problem was choosing a casing for the standard collapsible sword blade he selected. Eventually, after several iterations of the planned weapon were planned and summarily discarded, he thought of using the only thing that he already carried around with him at all times. His precious flute.

Conway spent all of his free periods over the next few days carefully drawing out plans and gathering materials for his weapon. What made his weapon unique among the sword-wielders at Signal was that he could still use the flute as a musical instrument, despite the extra hardware carefully assembled inside the casing. Granted, the sound was a bit different, and the flute itself was far heavier, but Conway considered those small prices to pay compared to the versatility of the finished product.

The fox Faunus was far from the best swordsman in his class at the beginning of his first year, but he was a hard worker and made up for his lack of inborn talent with sheer tenacity. He spent nearly every waking hour beyond what he spent in class practicing, often staying hours after even the most dedicated students and faculty left for the night; only stopping when he became too exhausted to move. Only to get up a few hours later and start again. His dedication paid off and he soon found himself in the higher tier of sword-wielders at Signal. He still wasn't the best, but he was no easy prey.

Conway spent the next three years flying under the radar at Signal, barely making even a token effort to attract more than passing attention from his peers and focusing almost totally on his classwork. He would have been totally isolated from the other students, if it were not for some weird girl with a red hood and a giant scythe in the class that started a year after his. She would occasionally pester the Faunus about his weapon and how he made it, in return, he would ignore her inquires and hope she left him alone. This exchange of services worked well enough in theory, but the little girl was nothing if not persistent. Thankfully, she had enough other friends that he remained little more than a passing fascination on occasion.

Annoying weapon junkie aside, Conway quickly gained an unwanted reputation as an antisocial prodigy, due in great part to his single-minded devotion to his studies and training. Unfortunately, he also attracted the attention of bullies, who believed him an easy target. His withdrawn and solitary nature did him no favors in that regard. But any enterprising bully looking for an easy target did not find one in Conway. He had long since learned to fight back against those who sought to harm him, and when he was attacked or cornered, the fox Faunus could be downright vicious. Five days prior to this meeting, he sent a trio of older students to the infirmary with multiple impact injuries and broken bones hat they received by way of attacking him. However, he did not escape notice, unlike the last few times that had happened.

It just so happened that the legendary Professor Ozpin, headmaster of the prestigious Beacon Academy, where Conway hoped to apply upon graduation, was at the Signal campus that afternoon. The enigmatic man had heard the commotion caused by the three seniors and investigated, only to find the younger student not only holding his own, but winning. Once the last senior was unconscious on the ground, courtesy of a point-blank range sonic burst to the face, the headmaster had approached Conway, ostensibly to talk to him.

And that was how he found himself here, sitting outside the office of the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon Academy.

Conway's fox ears, concealed though they were by his hat, twitched slightly as he heard the office door swing open on oiled hinges. Finally. With a quick flick of his wrist and twist of his fingers, Conway flipped his knife closed and slid it back into its pouch in a single well-practiced movement just before a middle-aged woman with blond hair, green eyes and glasses called out;

"Mr. Kieran? I'm ready for you now, please come in."

Conway pulled himself out of the less-than-comfortable chair with a near-silent groan of relief. Every single muscle and joint in his tail hurt, and they ached in protest at the sudden move. Sitting in that chair for more than half-an-hour was _definitely_ a bad idea. The fox Faunus knew his tail would be cramped for at least a few hours when he finally got back to the orphanage after sitting in that poorly padded chair. But, he reasoned, it was a small price to pay for keeping his species a secret.

Conway followed the woman, presumably G. Goodwitch, into her office, closing the door behind him. The Faunus took the opportunity to briefly study his surroundings and his host in greater depth before he settled into a chair that was not much better than the one in the waiting room.

The room was rather plain for a Deputy Headmistress; the former Huntress obviously followed the credo of 'Function over Form' with the décor. Plain wood paneling decorated the walls, with lighter colored carpet, almost a tan, covering the floor. A large, ornate desk, littered with papers that spilled out from an overfilled box labeled 'in,' sat facing the door. On one corner of the desk sat a small, rectangular picture frame that faced away from the door, next to which sat a rectangular block with copper plating that read ' Prof. Glynda Goodwitch' in block letters. A high-backed chair made of worn brown leather was set on the floor behind the desk along with two smaller chairs seated in front of it.

The professor herself was dressed in a black skirt with dark leggings and a pair of knee-length, short-heeled shoes on her feet. Around her midriff was a black corset over a white shirt with ruffles up the center, a pair of dangling earrings made of a green gemstone, a teardrop shaped pendant made of the same material hung around her neck. A weapon strapped to her thigh and a tattered black cloak around her shoulders completed her outfit. Glynda noticed Conway studying the room and allowed him a moment to analyze his surroundings before she started.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch," the woman began, "and you may call me Professor Goodwitch, or just Professor." Glynda's tone was cold as the wind on a warm day in Atlas. That is to say, roughly cold enough to freeze fire. Her emerald green eyes were set in a stern expression behind her black-rimmed oval glasses; in fact, her entire demeanor seemed to give off an air of aloofness and discipline that stood in stark contrast to the current state of her office. Before he could reply, she continued, "Please have a seat, Mr. Kieran, and we can get started."

Conway sat down in the rightmost chair at the same time that Glynda sat behind her desk. A curt wave of her hand swept all of the papers into an orderly pile to one side of her desk, leaving the surface mostly bare. "I must apologize for the mess, I don't usually allow my office to become so cluttered, but, as you know, the new semester starts in a few days, so I have more responsibilities than normal."

Conway smiled politely, he kind of understood, hoping to be one of the students starting the new semester and all that.

"I have a number of questions for you. Normally, questions like, 'what kind of weaponry do you use,' and 'where did you learn to use it,' come first, but as your skills were personally witnessed by Professor Ozpin at Signal Academy, he waived those particular questions. Of the remaining questions I have, the most pressing is, 'Who inspired you to become a Huntsman?'" The professor asked as she adjusted her glasses.

Conway shifted in his seat in a vain attempt to find a position that would not put any pressure on his tail before he answered. He was well aware that such an action only made him seem nervous, and to be honest, he was. Who wouldn't be when faced by an experienced Huntress in an unpredictable mood? Conway gathered his courage and spoke up.

"Well, I was originally taught," True enough, he thought, "by Ákos Altair, the former leader of Team ASPN. He helped me out with a problem," Also true enough, "that Patch was having with some local delinquents and kind of took me under his wing afterwards," Conway stifled a chuckle when he remarked about Ákos' wings. The veteran Huntsman had instilled a certain appreciation for puns, no matter their quality, into his apprentice over the past eight years.

Glynda's eyes widened slightly, "Ákos Altair actually took on an apprentice? I didn't think he ever would, considering what happened to the rest of his team."

"What even happened to Team ASPN? Ákos would never tell me, and I couldn't find any solid information in the news database." Conway asked, a curiosity that had been nagging him for years finally wishing to be sated; but would he like the answer?

The professor gazed sharply at Conway with disapproval etched on her features. Ah. Apparently not.

"And you wouldn't, considering the details of their last mission are meant to be secret. I can tell you that only Ákos and Primrose Potter survived. Sienna Hayes had been killed a few weeks beforehand, Napier Nielson was killed in action, and the mission was considered a success." The sentence was said with a clinical form of detachment, one you would expect from a Doctor who had just delivered the news that you were about to die.

Conway flinched almost imperceptibly and his face paled. But before he could formulate an apology, the professor kept talking.

"Next question, what is your Semblance, and how does it rank on the SSM scale?"

Damn, this woman took no prisoners. Conway knew from his classes early in his career at Signal that the SSM, or the Standardized Semblance Measurement scale was the primary method of putting the strength, versatility, and usefulness of a given Semblance into numbers. The reason for this was to make it easier for computers to rank individual student's strength on a purely by-the-numbers basis. There were two basic types of Semblance, internal and external. Those two types each had four basic levels of power, determined by the Semblance's own destructive potential. These levels ranged in strength from one, which tended to involve mostly internal abilities, to four, those Semblances capable of causing massive destruction with the proper preparation. Conway's Semblance, which ranked at a three, was focused mostly outward, with a few limited internal abilities, such as near-sonar level hearing.

The prospective student relayed this information to the impassive Professor behind her desk, who looked as expressionless as he was coming to expect from her while she listened. "Impressive that you have such a versatile Semblance, Mr. Kieran," She finally spoke, making Conway almost sigh in pure relief, "I look forward to seeing it in use in the future. If I may ask, how did you awaken it?"

Undesired memories coming to the forefront of his mind, Conway broke eye contact with the former Huntress, "I'd rather not answer that, if you don't mind."

At the teacher's speculative look, he continued, "Suffice to say, I met Ákos shortly afterwards, and he took me on as his apprentice maybe two weeks later."

The Professor nodded and said, "Most interesting… The final question I have for you is this; Why do you want to be a Huntsman?"

Conway paused thoughtfully. He knew why, but how to convince her? Opening his mouth, he spoke truthfully, "I suppose you could say I am trying to become a Huntsman to discover where I came from."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at Conway with an unreadable expression, before asking, "And what do you mean by that?"

"I want to find out who my parents are," Conway replied evenly and without hesitation. In response to her arched eyebrow, the younger blond continued, "Ya'see ma'am, I'm an orphan. I was abandoned on the doorstep of St. Oum's Orphanage on Patch Island, a bit over sixteen years ago, just before one of the worst summer thunderstorms on record. All I had with me was a stuffed animal, a blanket, a bottle, and a letter." He carefully fished out his father's necklace from the folds of his scarf, "This was in that letter. It said that this belonged to my father, and that he was a Huntsman. I've been trying to discover his name for as long as I can remember, but the names of active Huntsmen and Huntresses, even the deceased ones, aren't a matter of public record. I want to find out who he was, and maybe find out what happened to my mother, too. The note told me not to look for her, but I just...I _have_ to know."

The hidden Faunus leaned back in his chair, despite the discomfort it caused and finished, "That, Professor, is why I am going to become a Huntsman. Not for fame, glory, or recognition, but to learn where I came from, and maybe, just maybe, make some people proud."

The older blonde leaned back in her chair slightly when Conway voiced his declaration. He thought she looked pensive for a moment while she decided how to respond, but that image barely lasted a moment before her customary stern expression reasserted itself on her features.

"Then I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Kieran. I just hope that you aren't disappointed if and when you find those answers you seek. If you have no questions for me, then this interview is over, and we will contact you within the next two days to inform you of your acceptance." Professor Goodwitch stated, standing up.

Conway knew he was dismissed, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that she knew something she wasn't telling him. He hoped he had plenty of time to figure it out, if he did indeed attend Beacon.

_Author's Note: _

_Fun Fact #6: Conway's pistol is based on Samus Aran's Paralyzer pistol from the Metroid series, only modified to be able to use conventional bullets in addition to dust rounds. It also lacks the Plasma Wire and Plasma Whip attachments from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. _

_Fun Fact #7: The pistol also lacks any transformative properties as of now, but like I said, it has interchangeable parts, so who knows? _

_Fun Fact #8: It would really be great if you guys could take a minute to drop a review. Seriously, like even a 'good job' or a 'keep it up' would be appreciated. _

_Edited 11/20. Changing names, and a few details.  
_


	4. Welcome to Beacon

RWBY: A Fox's Tale Chapter 4: Welcome to Beacon

Conway sighed for what felt like the hundredth time since he took a seat on the rapidly-filling Large Bullhead. He really should have expected a large group of students; given that Beacon Academy was the most popular secondary combat school in all of Vale, and arguably the world. But what he had not expected was how… open his fellow students seemed to be with each other. He had never seen anything like it before. They mingled with each other without fear that the person they were talking to would stab them in the back at the first opportunity. That was probably the paranoia talking, he mused while he sank further into his comfortable bench. Like the rest of the vehicle it was very well-decorated for its status as a glorified school bus. Conway thought that having the first-year students all arrive by airship was something the faculty had cooked up in an effort to make their school seem more impressive rather than for any real purpose given that Beacon Academy was easily accessible by road. Though that might have just been the cynicism acting up again.

Conway absently fingered the knife that Wisteria had given him before he had left that morning with his right hand. The grooves fit perfectly in his hand as he gripped the smooth hilt. It was one of the set that the deer Faunus had used when she was a student at Castle Academy, another combat training school, located in Mistral. The knife was a strange weapon, with a thin triangular blade that had two smaller blades that protruded from its base at a forty-five degree angle and extended about a quarter the length of the central blade. This blade was attached to a round handle with a ring on the end. This shape made the knife ideal for fighting opponents who used blades, as the prongs could easily catch a weapon and lock it with a quick twist.

This knife held many fond memories for him; it was always one of the first that Wisteria would throw at Ákos when the Huntsman did something that severely ticked her off. It's not like the falcon Faunus was _trying _to earn her ire _per se_, but the deer Faunus was fiercely protective of all the children in her care, especially Conway. This was perhaps understandable, considering that she had literally raised him from infancy and they were some of the only Faunus in their community. The fox Faunus, knowing that this knife was one of the last mementos that Wisteria still kept from her days as a Huntress, had tried to refuse the gift, but the woman who he had long considered his mother would not take 'no' for an answer and refused to allow him to leave without it. She was sentimental like that. It was called Stinger and Wisteria swore up and down that it would keep him safe. He wore it in a sheath that Wisteria had sewn into the lining of his jacket the night before, safely out of sight.

Needless to say, Conway didn't plan on actually using _Stinger_ in combat anytime soon, given that he hadn't actually trained in its use. It was more likely that he would damage it while trying to figure out how to fight with it, so he would have to wait until after the first semester to ask Wisteria to teach him how to best use it.

His thoughts were pulled from the knife as he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Everything inside of him screamed from the natural instincts he had honed over the years, but as Conway turned, he was met with a sight that made his stomach squirm unpleasantly.

Conway couldn't quash the stab of envy he felt when he saw an orange-haired girl with a grenade launcher strapped to her back conversing animatedly with a lean, black-haired boy with a green coat. At first glance, the boy seemed indifferent to the girl's antics, but if one were to look closer, they would see the spark of affection in his pink eyes. Similar scenes played out across the rest of the large passenger deck. Conway simply folded his arms, kept his head down, and evened his breathing. With any luck, the other students would assume he was sleeping.

It was not to be. Mere moments after the Bullhead took off; a pair of strange brown boots with pointed toes stepped into his limited field of vision and stopped in front of him. The odd thing about them was that they seemed to lack a sole, but that apparently didn't bother their wearer. The odd boots turned and stopped, with their toes pointing directly at him, before he heard a soft voice remark, "You've had a hard time, haven't you?"

Conway involuntarily fidgeted. The blond glanced up to catch a glimpse of the voice's owner. She, for she was a girl, was clad in a dark green dress with gold detailing that depicted leaves and vines that stopped at her mid-thigh, a pair of dark tan leggings, the aforementioned boots, and a belt with pouches and sleeves that held small glass vials. She also wore a short sleeved jacket of the same color and design as her dress, with brown pads on her shoulders and elbows. Her delicate wrists were covered by a pair of brown cloth wristbands with the same gold detailing. A necklace in the shape of a maple leaf with a heart incorporated into the middle hung around her neck. Her belt buckle was the same shape as her necklace. A large hat made of soft-looking yellow straw completed the girl's outfit. What appeared to be a large hoe was somehow attached to her back, and something that looked suspiciously like a trowel hung at her left hip. She was a bit shorter than him, if he had to guess, about five-two or five-three.

However, the most striking thing about her appearance was not her clothing, her weapons, her long brown hair, or her cornflower-blue eyes. Beautiful though she was, the most noticeable thing about her was in fact the brown and pink rabbit ears that protruded through two holes in her hat. Conway involuntarily started. He didn't know that there were any Faunus students in his class, though that might've been his own fault, since he was currently in one of the more secluded seats.

Pretending to be asleep.

…

Yeah, definitely his own fault on that one.

Conway felt his face flush (with embarrassment or annoyance, he wasn't quite sure) when he realized that the rabbit girl was still waiting for a response. Several moments later he came up with a very coherent, "Huh, how… What?"

The girl gave a soft, bell-like laugh in response.

"Sorry, Uintah forgot to introduce herself. Her name is Uintah Oihana. As for how she knew your secret, well… We, all of us," Uintah pointed to one of her ears, "Share a deeper connection to nature than others, and you," She gestured at Conway, more specifically, at his hat where his fox ears lay concealed, "Are no exception."

Conway held back the urge to cringe at her mildly accusatory tone. Blue eyes stared into green, and Conway got the unsettling feeling that he was being judged, until Uintah's half-lidded eyes softened, and she continued as though nothing had occurred.

"Uintah's connection is stronger than most, due to her Semblance." Uintah gingerly reached in to one of her belt pouches and fished out a small item. It wasn't anything extraordinary, just a mundane seed, probably from some kind of fruit. Uintah held it in the palm of her hand, her countenance shifting to one of concentration before the seed was enveloped in a faint green light. To Conway's surprise, the seed had grown into a small green seedling, complete with two tiny leaves.

Well then… that's something you don't see every day.

"Uintah's Semblance is Eden. It allows her to listen to and control plants."

With another small flare of Aura the plant reverted back into a seed and Uintah slipped it back into her pouch and looked at Conway expectantly. When he realized she was waiting for him to give his name in return, Conway nearly slapped himself.

"Oh, right, introductions," Conway said nervously, clearing his throat before he continued, "My name's Conway Kieran."

Before Uintah could reply, a male voice called out, "There you are, Win! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

A tall boy wearing a knee-length white coat with a dark purple shirt and black hair rushed up to the rabbit Faunus and embraced her in a friendly hug, which she fondly returned with a happy laugh. Conway looked on with no small amount of jealousy at the pair's easy interaction and wished, not for the first time, that he had someone like that who he could be that open with. Someone who he could be himself with; without the fear of rejection or being left alone again.

Uintah quickly broke the hug, too quickly for it to be natural. Conway's eyes narrowed in suspicion, it was almost like she could sense his discomfort and envy. Then again, with her supposed connection to nature, he would not be surprised to learn that she could sense emotions.

"Tyr, this is Conway Kieran. Conway Kieran, this is Tyrian Sparrow, he is Uintah's best big friend brother. Before you ask, yes, he has always been this tall, except before, when he wasn't."

Tyrian extended his right hand to Conway while smiling widely showing perfect white teeth. His teal eyes, though shielded behind a pair of rectangular glasses with silver-colored frames, were alight with mirth and a genuine love of life. "Nice ta meetcha, Conway! Any friend of Win's is a friend of mine."

Conway grasped Tyrian's extended hand firmly. As he shook it, the shorter blond caught sight of an odd metal frame on the taller boy's forearm under his sleeve. A quick glance to his waist revealed a pair of holsters hanging from the black-haired boy's belt. "Pleasure's all mine," Conway returned, "Wait a second… Sparrow? As in Sparrow Technologies? I didn't know that this class included someone so prominent. Anyone else I should know about?"

Tyrian adopted a thoughtful look and pulled his hand out of Conway's loosened grasp. He stroked his chin contemplatively, though the image was somewhat spoiled by his lack of facial hair. "Well, I wouldn't call myself prominent, but… Hm. To answer your question, though, the only other students that are widely known that I know of would be…"

Tyrian trailed off for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. He stayed this way for almost five seconds, with blank eyes and a slack expression. While Tyrian was distracted, Uintah stared off into the distance at something only she could see and meandered off, leaving a somewhat confused Conway behind with her spaced-out friend.

Suddenly, Tyrian's dim teal eyes regained their spark, and he started talking as though reading off of a list, "Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, River Caeli, daughter of Soren and Caith Caeli, senior member of the Vale Council, and head of the Oum Memorial Hospital, respectively, and finally, Pyrrha Nikos, part time model and record-setting four time winner of the Mistral Regional Championship."

Conway looked shell-shocked at the black-haired boy, his mind whirling with the intelligence he had just gained. Sweet Monty… so many influential people in one place. How would their egos cope with one another? Knowing Conway's abysmal luck, there would probably be a huge fight to the death. At least there were an uneven number, so if a fight did break out, it would have to be two on one or a free for all.

The white-coated boy suddenly snapped his fingers, "Oh, and how could I forget Amber Mikado? Our families are business associates. Anyway, she's the heiress of the Mikado Conglomerate and last of her family. Also the wielder of the Semblance known as Construct."

Of course… there had to be one more. Alliances would be made.

"And wherever Amber goes, her personal assistant slash bodyguard, Alban Radley, is never far behind. While probably not as directly powerful as Amber, he is an accomplished duelist in his own right."

And one had a bodyguard. Fantastic.

"Thanks for the information, Tyrian, but…" Conway began, but he was cut off.

"Please, call me Tyr."

"Alright then, Tyr, but as I was saying, Uintah wandered off. Does this happen often? She seems a little…" Conway made a vague motion with his hand, which Tyrian seemed to interpret as 'not all _there._'

"Yeah, Win's always been a bit on the strange side, even when we were younger. Always going on about her 'planty-friends' as she calls them. She's a good friend." Tyrian gave Conway a sidelong stare, much as Uintah had done earlier, though the eyes behind his glasses were more playful than spacey. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you could use a few of those."

Conway adopted an indifferent expression a fraction of a second too late to cover his look of shock. Tyrian's knowing look only confirmed in Conway's mind that the other boy had seen it, before he glanced out over the crowd.

"Ah Dust, not again!**" **Tyr groaned dramatically, palming his face with one hand. "Sorry Con, I've got to go track her down before she gets herself in trouble." Tyrian paused for a second in contemplation, "Again. Take care, yeah? I'll see you later."

Before Conway could reply, Tyrian dashed off… in the complete opposite direction of Uintah. The fox Faunus thought about calling after him, but decided against it. After all, if he found the rabbit Faunus once, he could find her again, right?

…

Yeah, he'd better go and find her. Or Tyrian, whichever came first.

Curse his responsible nature.

Conway levered himself out of his seat, wincing at the customary twinge of pain from his wrapped tail. It never got any easier to bear, but it was worth it to avoid the bigots who would hate him for his species alone.

Conway close his eyes and focused his Semblance on his ears, sharpening his already acute hearing to superhuman levels. He tried to pick out the sound of Uintah's footsteps, unique among all the other prospective students who were milling about due to her sole-less boots. He didn't like using his Semblance like this because it increased his vulnerability to unexpected sounds a hundredfold, but… as needs must.

Conway's human ears twitched as he filtered through the background noise of the crowded passenger deck. He ignored the news broadcast, it was something to do with the string of Dust robberies throughout the area, but turned his attention to a nearby hologram emitter when the reporter's voice was suddenly cut off by another, one he was slightly more familiar with. The glacial voice of Professor Glynda Goodwitch issued from the speakers scattered throughout the passenger deck as a hologram of the stern woman appeared. Conway gave a sideways look to the hologram emitter as the Professor's avatar began its prerecorded speech.

_"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attending this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsman and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world."_

Conway rolled his eyes at the end of the recorded message and barely repressed a snort before he returned to his search. How pointlessly trite. He and his fellow prospective students didn't need _knowledge _and_ training_ as much as they needed _wisdom_ and _experience._ All the book knowledge and training in the world wouldn't help someone who froze in terror the first time they found themselves in a fight. Unfortunately, the only truly reliable way to see who could stand the test of battle was to throw individuals into one and see who remained standing at the end. Some would say such a test would be too cruel and wasteful. He thought it should be called survival of the fittest.

The blond scanned the crowd for any sign of Uintah, but instead of rabbit ears, he saw a _very _familiar red cloak. Conway paled at the sight of the bright garment and its wearer, a short girl with red and black hair.

How on Remnant did that girl even get into this class?

Conway groaned aloud in frustration as the realization that he would have no peace for the next few years struck him. It looked like he wouldn't be getting even one year of schooling without some weapon-crazed girl hopping all around like a bunny that overdosed on sugar and amphetamines. Luckily, the short girl was busy talking to her half-sister and not paying attention to her surroundings, otherwise she might have started in on him then and there. Then Conway realized that he would be far from the only one with a unique weapon at Beacon and immediately felt a sense of relief.

Honestly, what part of 'I don't want to talk to you, please go away," did the girl not understand? It's not like he could spell it out any more clearly than that, right?

The fox Faunus was distracted from his despondency by a sharp cry of discomfort followed by Uintah's soft voice, politely requesting that her ear be released. Conway spun, instantly locking on to the source of the noise thanks to his activated Semblance. His blood boiled in his veins at the sight that greeted his narrowed eyes.

A stocky boy with deep red hair and amethyst colored eyes was holding one of Uintah's ears. He was clad in a dark gold coat with odd black patches and a pair of nondescript black pants. His grip was far too tight to be considered friendly, and if the expression on his face was anything to go by, he had no intention of letting go anytime soon. The redhead drew back his other hand, fingers curling into a fist; his eyes alight with dark amusement and cruelty.

From his vantage point, Conway could see a small, round device under the cuff of the boy's coat, just under his wrist. It was probably connected to a weapon system of some kind, though what, Conway couldn't be sure. A smaller boy with shoulder-length straight black hair sat on one of the seats nearby, apparently content to surf the internet on his Scroll and ignore what his red-haired friend was doing. The second boy was wearing what appeared to be an ordinary black business suit with gloves and a pair of large, visor-like sunglasses over his eyes. A black metal briefcase with white segments set in a random pattern sat next to his chair.

Even as his mind was processing what his eyes were taking in, Conway's body moved of its own accord, shoving past any who dared get in his way. Just as he was about to reach the gold-clad boy with _Spritely Whisper _already in hand, someone else intervened. A large hand, attached to an absolutely _huge_ boy with, oddly enough, blue hair, and a set of ox horns that protruded from above his temples.

This giant of an ox Faunus was wearing a pair of plain blue jeans, worn leather boots with steel caps, and a plain shirt made of red and brown flannel. Across his back was an axe of truly mammoth proportions. The haft was at least seven feet long, while the double-headed blade was nearly two and a half feet in length, in addition to the length of the haft, and over a yard wide at its widest point. How the ox Faunus managed to wield such a weapon with any semblance of control was a mystery to Conway, the blasted thing was bigger than even its massive wielder, who was about seven and a half feet tall. Judging from the way the end of the handle was shaped like a rifle butt, Conway could only assume that the axe served a secondary function as a cannon of some kind, since it was both a) too big to be any kind of conventional rifle, and b) too big to use any other kind of ammunition that Conway could think of at the moment.

So surprised was he by the giant's appearance, Conway barely registered the presence of a much smaller individual who was wearing a white and blue parka style snowsuit, complete with white ski mask, heavy boots, and a pair of metallic blue ski goggles. This person, whose gender Conway was unable to readily identify, was short. Very short, and built like a reed. His (or her) head barely reached the lower end of the ox Faunus' broad chest, making him (or her) about four and a half feet tall.

"Ah'd suggest lettin' the 'lil lady go, friend." Said the giant in a surprisingly friendly and genial tone, "Ah'd hate ta have ta do somethin' yeh'd regret."

The gold-clad boy growled slightly, but relinquished his grip on Uintah's ear and wrenched his arm out of the ox Faunus' hand. Uintah brought a hand up to her bent ear and gently smoothed it back into its normal shape with a few deft strokes. While such an act impressed Conway; having had personal experience in putting his animal features back in their proper place after being attacked and knowing how much of a pain it could be, both literally and figuratively, it saddened him to know that such actions could only be carried out with such ease if the individual in question has had a lot of practice.

The boy in the suit sighed and shook his head as he stood up and gathered his briefcase. His motions were jerky and halting, almost as if he had some kind of mechanical assistance in moving virtually his entire body. If he did, Conway could see no evidence of it.

"You got lucky, bunny girl," Conway heard the gold-coated boy mutter as he stalked off with his suit-clad friend in tow. "I'll get you next time."

How cliché. Conway didn't even bother suppressing the disdainful roll of his eyes.

"Now now Morgan, remember what I've told you about being so unkind? This is the third time on this trip alone that you've done something like this." The suit-clad boy remarked.

The gold-clad boy, presumably Morgan, grimaced. "But Blaise, you _heard _what that girl said…"

The rest of Morgan's reply was lost in the buzz of the crowd while the odd pair walked off. Hopefully to bother someone else, Conway thought as he slipped his weapon back into its holster on his thigh.

The giant ox Faunus crouched down to Uintah's level, his warm brown eyes practically radiating concern for the smaller Faunus. "Are yeh alrigh', miss?" He asked in a gentle tone.

Uintah looked up at him with her customary half-focused eyes, "Uintah is not hurt, kind one. She thanks you for your help, you and the chilly one. Even if you hadn't stepped in, Uintah thinks that things would have worked out," Uintah smiled sleepily and glanced around the deck for a moment before her hooded blue eyes locked onto Conway, who was simply watching the interaction between Uintah and the two mystery students. "Conway Kieran! Come and meet Uintah's new friends! They're like old friends, but not! And Uintah just met them!"

How typical. Of course she would call him out. Did she have no concept of stealth or privacy?

Uintah stared in his direction expectantly.

...

Apparently not.

Conway ruthlessly suppressed a sigh. Honestly that rabbit girl was _way_ too happy, especially considering the position she had been in mere moments before. The blond stepped forward into the ox Faunus' line of sight, the blue haired giant's nostrils flared a bit when he saw that Conway looked like a human.

Great, he just couldn't win today, could he? His life was the best! Note the sarcasm.

"Thanks for helping Uintah," Conway said, extending a hand toward the giant. "Like she said, I'm Conway Kieran."

The ox Faunus stared at the offered appendage for a moment as if it was a rabid dog ready to maul him. He looked almost shocked that someone else was willingly offering him his hand in a gesture of greeting. Maybe it was because Owen thought he was a human?

His guarded expression made Conway think that the much taller boy was going to reject his hand, but the ox Faunus decided to trust him on this one, and grasped Conway's hand in a firm grip.

Almost too firm… Ow…

Apparently the giant did not know his own strength. The bones in Conway's hand creaked and he winced as he heard a faint crack.

Curse his responsible nature.

"Owen Alpine, an' this," the ox Faunus gestured to his diminutive snowsuit-wearing companion with his free hand before letting Conway's hand slip from his grasp, "is Wendelin Match. Ah'm just glad the lil' lady here weren't hurt too bad b'fore Ah stepped in."

"It's good to meet you two, and thanks again for helping her. Very few people I've met would actually step in to help a Faunus." Conway said as he extended his hand to the short figure of indeterminate gender. The fox tried his best not to allow bitterness to seep into his tone, but he knew from the suspicious look the giant ox adopted that he hadn't been entirely successful.

Curse the perceptiveness of other people.

Conway nearly yelped at the sudden loss of heat as Wendelin's gloved fingers latched around his hand with a tight grip. Damn that was cold, it was almost enough to give him frostbite.

His poor, abused, right hand. Thank Oum he was left handed.

By the time Wendelin let go several seconds later, Conway's hand was nearly blue with cold and he could barely move his fingers.

At least it numbed the pain from the ox faunus's deadly grip. He could already feel his Aura working overtime to heal _that_ one.

"Sorry about that," the voice that issued forth from the mask of the snow suit had a metallic, raspy quality to it that made Conway suspect that its user didn't have much experience with speaking to others, or speaking in general.

Stupid Sound-based Semblance and its lack of actually useful information.

"My Semblance tends to act up, even while I'm wearing Khione Blessing. Believe it or not, it used to be much worse," the elfin student said in what was _probably_ meant to be a sheepish tone while rubbing the back of their neck through the suit's hood in embarrassment. The effect was somewhat lost by the rough quality of the voice itself. Then again, that snowsuit and mask could make anyone intimidating, even if they were as short as Wendelin.

Conway subtly flexed his hand until the uncomfortable sensation of pins and needles in his flesh told him his hand wasn't frozen solid. Thankfully, even if it were, he was left handed, so the overall impact to his fighting would not be as notable.

Unless of course it had to be amputated. That would suck.

"Don't worry about it Wendelin, it's not the first time I've nearly been frozen."

That was true; one time during evasion training Ákos had loaded his _Sturmblitzers_ with Ice Dust ammo instead of his customary Earth Dust ammo. Wisteria had not been pleased when Conway had limped back to the orphanage with the right half of his body covered in ice. That incident went on the deer Faunus' '_Top Ten List of Stupid Things That Stupid Falcon Faunus Has Done_,' right below the time Ákos gave Conway his first gun. However, it ranked right above the time the falcon Faunus had dropped the fox off on a small, uninhabited island and told him to survive for a week with nothing but some clothes, his gun, a knife, and a single magazine of ammunition.

It just went to show that the old saying was true. '_Never piss off a knife-throwing deer Faunus when her weapons are within reach._' Conway didn't know if that saying was old or not, but Ákos _did_ say it a lot. Usually right before he did something that set Wisteria off. Which was quite often.

The elfin student seemed shocked at Conway's easy dismissal of his hand being nearly frozen, though he was unsure if he interpreted the snowsuit-clad student's body language correctly. While Wendelin was distracted, Conway took the opportunity to ask another question.

"What do you mean, Khione Blessing? Is that your weapon?"

Silence reigned for a few moments while Wendelin fidgeted a bit, seemingly uncomfortable about something; before taking a deep breath and answering, "Kind of. It's more like a containment system for my Semblance."

"Interesting," Conway remarked.

What kind of semblance required active suppression, especially one carried by a student? Obviously a dangerous one. Maybe Wendelin possessed an Unstable Semblance? Semblances of that type were exceedingly rare and carried tremendous risk, not only to those around the user, but also to the user themselves.

Ákos had once told him that Napier Nielson, one of his teammates had possessed one such Semblance. It had been called Reconstruction. It enabled her to break compounds down into their base elements and change their structure to suit her needs. However, it was dangerous and thus labeled 'Unstable' because Napier had great difficulty controlling the Reconstruction effect.

If Wendelin had a similarly unstable power, then Conway could empathize. After all, those with Unstable Semblances tended to be frowned upon by the rest of society, just like Faunus. In a way, Conway knew somewhat how Wendelin must feel, having been born under circumstances beyond their control into the same unfair world.

The fox Faunus glanced over at Uintah, who was making small talk with Owen. The brunette was animatedly waving her arms around while going on about some trouble she and Tyrian had gotten in to that was, 'totally his fault but he didn't want to admit it, so he blamed the Grimm even though we were in the middle of a building at the time,' according to the eccentric narrator. Owen was listening politely and occasionally making comments of his own.

Conway's expression softened slightly as he watched the pair interact with each other. Owen obviously knew the pain most Faunus had to go through, much like Uintah and himself, but unlike him, the blue-haired ox Faunus had managed to retain his ability to trust others. He was far too kind to be nearly as jaded as Conway.

When Conway glanced back to talk to Wendelin again, he was surprised that the snowsuit-clad student had disappeared. The blond ruthlessly crushed the stab of disappointment he felt, but couldn't bury the feeling of abandonment. Despite only knowing the elfin individual for a few minutes, they had still talked to each other, which was more than most people besides Ákos and Wisteria had ever done for him.

Satisfied that Uintah was safe and that Owen would look after her, Conway used his Semblance to eliminate any sound he made whilst moving and took a seat. He often did that without realizing it due to a subconscious desire to remain unnoticed, and did not often realize that he was doing it unless someone, usually Wisteria, pointed it out to him. His chosen seat happened to be a few chairs away from a girl wearing a pair of green headphones emblazoned with an effigy of an eye with a large X through the pupil.

Once he settled into the seat, at least as much as he could with his wrapped and coiled tail, Conway took a closer look at his new seatmate. She was wearing an open dark green garment that looked like a fusion between a robe and a coat that ended at her knees. Her left arm was partially covered by an armored bronze sleeve with a small bronze pauldron with one strap that crossed her midsection to loop around and reattach to the back of a second plate that protected the curve of her shoulder. A matching bronze colored breastplate could be seen under the edge of her coat. Beneath the breastplate, the girl wore a black shirt. Her feet were clad in a pair of mid-calf boots, which had a pair of ordinary-looking black pants tucked into them, and a pair of bronze greaves. All of the bronze armor was covered in intricate detailing and engravings, mostly of leaves and vines. Despite the armor and concealing clothing, Conway could tell that her body type was actually quite slender; meaning that she more than likely relied on agility as opposed to strength.

The green-clad girl also had brilliant, flame-red hair styled into a simple braid with a simple, ring-shaped talisman made of what appeared to be heavy, dark wood tied to the end, which rested at the base of her spine. Two shoulder length bangs, held in place by some leather strips decorated either side of her face. The oddest thing about her was the fact that both of her eyes were covered by a wide strip of black fabric that was decorated with leaf-like bronze embroidery.

Well. That explained the eye symbols at least.

A tall staff of the same wood as her talisman leaned against the wall, resting on a rounded knob on the slightly curved upper portion, around which was wrapped a petrified vine that coiled partway down the length of the shaft. The knob was decorated with the same symbol as her headphones. Conway caught sight of a disguised trigger hidden between the vine and the shaft, which led him to assume that the weapon doubled as a rifle of some kind. Before he could make a closer inspection, a soft voice cut through his investigation.

"If you are _quite _done ogling me and my _Sileigeach Faireior_, I'd appreciate an introduction, stranger."

Busted.

Conway was taken aback for a moment, enough that he dropped his instinctive silent field. How had she known he was there? He'd sat down across from her while moving in a silenced zone _while she was wearing headphones_ for Dust sake!

"How did you… "He began.

"Know you were there?" The redhead interrupted as she pulled her headphones down around her neck, "Honestly, you'd think that people would come up with a better opening question than that," the girl 'hmm'ed,' "my returning question would then be; 'why would you ask that?' Is it because I'm blind? Or because until I called you out, you had a shell of concentrated Aura that I know is your Semblance, around your body when you sat down?" The redhead chuckled a bit as if she could see Conway's gaping mouth, "What, never had someone find you when you didn't want to be found before?"

Conway shook off his surprise long enough to respond to the girl's teasing. "Ah, honestly… no. No one has ever found me if I used my Semblance to hide before." A deadpan look greeted his explanation. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. This was awkward.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Conway Kieran."

The redhead gave him what might be considered a measuring look, though the effect was somewhat intensified by the black cloth that obscured her eyes. If Uintah's gaze felt like she was reading his mind, then this girl's eyeless gaze felt like she was staring into his very soul. Briefly, Conway wondered why it seemed everyone he met or was introduced to was doing that today. Was he truly that easy to read?

No he wasn't. Ákos made sure of that. There was something else going on here, and if he had to make a guess, this girl's Semblance played a major role in her ability to see without her eyes.

Why did he attract all the weird ones?

Abruptly, the redhead smiled. "Well, Conway Kieran, my name is River Caeli." Conway's eyes widened fractionally. He didn't know what exactly he had been expecting from the second name that Tyrian had mentioned earlier, but it certainly wasn't this pale slip of a girl! To put it bluntly, she didn't look like she had ever fought before. She must have uncanny instincts, masterful Dust manipulation, or a very powerful Semblance if she was attending this school.

River's voice cut through Conway's musing like a knife thrown by Wisteria Vero cleaves air when Ákos Altair dodges it. "And what you're currently thinking about my abilities is only partially correct. I will tell you one thing, a hint if you will. Mostly because no one has bothered to sit next to me or talk to me this whole trip, and frankly, I'm bored. You can only listen to so many audiobooks before everything sounds like mush, after all. My Semblance is Divination."

Conway nodded as he assimilated the information. Divination… that could mean anything from enhanced senses to Aura sensing. Then again, from the way she spoke about his Aura and Semblance, he was fairly certain that the form River's Divination took was some kind of Aura Sight. Obviously, there had to be more to it than that, otherwise she would have simply called it 'Sight,' but it was probably based around seeing Aura.

River confirmed Conway's theory when he presented it, but with a few corrections. "You're right, my Semblance is based around Aura sight, but it goes beyond that. If I am familiar enough with the people near me, I can sometimes catch a glimpse of their _secrets._ Of what they try to _hide_."

Ah, Dust.

Conway's blood ran cold at River's ominous statement. Did she know? Today was just not his day. He downright hated today. Not even at the school yet, and at least two people already knew his secret? Was his dream to be denied simply because of a nature-sensing Faunus and a blind girl with a detection-based Semblance?

Just before panic could fully take hold of the not-so-secret fox Faunus, River reached across the aisle and placed a gentle hand on his knee. "Hey, just because I can _see_ what you're hiding doesn't mean I'll tell anyone else, ya'know?" The blind girl huffed, in exasperation or annoyance, Conway wasn't sure, before she continued. "I swear, everyone always thinks the worst when I tell them what I can do. It wasn't like I _asked_ for the ability to scan Aura, I just…" River's voice trailed off. The red-haired girl lowered her head and whispered, almost too softly for even Conway's advanced hearing to pick up. "I just wanted to _see_ again."

"I'm sorry."

River's head snapped back up to 'look' at Conway. "What?" she all-but-shouted, taken aback.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, "for assuming the worst of you, Miss Caeli."

An expression of pure shock etched itself across what was visible of River's features. "I-it's alright… Mr. Kieran." The redhead seemed to shake off her shock enough to give a wry grin, "And none of that 'Miss' stuff. Only teachers, reporters, and other people I generally don't like call me that. The name's River, so please use it."

"In that case, call me Conway."

"Very well…" Before the redhead could say anything else, a loud and boisterous male voice interrupted her.

"Can I fight someone now, Ianthe? Seein' all these strong-looking people in one place is makin' me get all fired up!"

A long suffering sigh followed by a mildly annoyed sounding female voice replied, "No Tai, it's _not_ time to fight now. Just like it hasn't been for the last few hours. Just like it will remain to not be the time until sometime later, probably tomorrow."

"Ah, come on! You never let me fight anyone! That racist guy with the mace was a weakling, so he doesn't count!" There was a brief pause before the voice continued, "I think his name was Catbird, or somethin'…. If it wasn't, it shoulda been. I'ma call him that from now on."

Conway and River's heads both turned to look at the source of the disturbance, only to see an odd pair of figures walking towards them at a sedate pace. Well, one, the female, was sedate, but her male companion was bouncing all over the place, throwing punches at air like a jacked-up on Dust Shot kangaroo. Unmindful of their audience, the strange pair continued their conversation.

"You still shouldn't have punched him in the face," The white-haired girl, who was wearing a dark blue baggy, robe-like garment with a deep hood, said in a tone laced with mild disapproval, but also no real surprise. "He almost lost half his teeth. That is the reason I 'never let you fight anyone.' The concept of holding back is utterly foreign to you and with your skills and Semblance…"

"You gotta admit he had it comin' though. If not from me, then someone else. It was karma!" The red-haired boy interrupted. He was wearing a red short-sleeved jacket with a red and gold sunburst design on each shoulder and between his shoulders over a red martial arts gi with gold trim. His feet were shod with, oddly enough, a pair of sandals. He had a pair of outlandish shaped gauntlets on over the gloves. They were ridged with sharp rows of small, hooked blades, and were widest directly behind his wrists before tapering down to grip around his elbows. He was wearing a matching pair of greaves on his legs, only they lacked the hooked blades

"Language, Taiyo. What would your parents say?" Ianthe chided, but it sounded like her heart wasn't in it.

The red-haired boy scoffed in response. "I heard more and worse than that every day at home, and you know it Aega. Honestly, sometimes I think…"

The conversation faded as the pair walked towards the exit. Conway glanced out of the nearby window and saw that the airship was nearly at the Beacon Docks. "River, we're here. We should probably get ready to leave. I'll see you around, yeah?"

River smiled softly. "I should think so. Who knows, maybe we'll have some classes together or something. It was nice to meet you."

"Same to you,River." Conway rose from his seat and offered her his hand, which she accepted, pulling herself up and retrieving her weapon from its resting place against the wall. River gracefully wove her way through the veritable flood of students rushing for the exit, ignoring Conway's look of amazement at her ability to dodge dozens of people in a confined space while, literally, walking blind.

Conway was snapped out of his trance by a firm shove to the back that, in conjunction with another student's weapon, sent him sprawling onto the hard deck.

"Out of my way," A harsh voice cut through Conway's surprise as two pairs of legs walked over him. The blond glanced up as the two figures walked away. One of the two figures was a girl with silky brown hair left to fall to the small of her back. She was wearing a fitted brown vest over a yellow shirt with short sleeves, a pair of obviously tailored brown cargo pants with yellow trim and low topped brown shoes with yellow soles. A sword that Conway recognized from his classes at Signal as a jian with a long tassel hung at her left hip. Oddly enough, he had considered a jian as a possible weapon before he turned to his flute. A pistol sat in a quick-draw holster on her opposite hip.

Her companion, a young man of average height and build, was wearing a pristine dark red suit trimmed with black and a white half cape that hung on his left shoulder by way of a cord around his other shoulder. He wore immaculate white gloves and matching red shoes with black laces and soles. His spiky hair too was white, but not like snow, instead, it reminded Conway of sun-bleached bone. In his right hand was an elaborate cane with a revolver chamber just below the handle. Conway couldn't tell if the device was designed to hold bullets or Dust, but he would bet on the latter due to the placement.

The young man didn't say a word, but he did glance back at the fallen fox Faunus, revealing his eerie orange eyes that were half hidden behind a pair of dark round glasses. The lenses were held to the stems by small metal plates that were bolted directly onto the lenses themselves, which in turn were both bolted to a rounded metal nose piece. The white-haired boy soon looked away without saying a word.

Conway suppressed a shiver at the look in those orange eyes. It could only be described as… hungry. By the time Conway levered himself off the floor, he was the only student left on the passenger deck. The blond dusted himself off and hurried after the crowd, unwilling to be left behind once again.

Never again.

_Author's Notes_

_Fun Fact #10: Uintah is the name of a certain breed of cactus and also the name of a district in Utah. Her surname means golden.  
_

_Fun Fact #11: Tyrian is not based on Tyrion Lannister, his name happens to be a name for a shade of royal purple. _

_Fun Fact #12: Ianthe's first name literally translates from Greek as 'purple or violet flower,' and her surname is the root of the word aegis, and it means something like 'unyielding.' _

_Fun Fact# 13: River's design is somewhat based on Sinon's ALO costume from "Sword Art Online". Her weapon is a stylized shillelagh. Its name, Sileigeach Faireoir literally translates to Sightless Watcher in Gaelic. _

_Fun Fact #14: Owen is based on Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe. His weapon is based on the Harkonnen from Hellsing, only with a large double ax head attached to the end of the barrel.  
_

_Fun Fact #15: Wendelin Match is based on a certain character from a certain short story. If you can guess which one, you get an internet cookie. Which is a cookie made of LIES. _

_Fun Fact #16: Khione is the Greek Goddess of Snow, so it kinda makes sense she's the name for Wendelin's suit. _

_Fun Fact #16: Hmm. Must be a glitch in the Matrix. _

_Fun Fact #17: Taiyo Akairo is based on a picture of a genderbent Sakura Haruno from Naruto that I found, and his name means 'Sun Red.' _

_Fun Fact #18: Blaise's name has multiple possible meanings, but the one I'm going with is that it is a corruption of the Greek Basilius, meaning royal or kingly. His last name is Noir, which is French for black. _

_Fun Fact #19: Morgan Kaine: His surname literally means 'tribute' in Gaelic, and his first name, like Blaise's has multiple possible meanings. It can mean either 'Cymbeline' or 'Bright Sea.'  
_

_Fun Fact #20: Amber Mikado's name was easy to come up with. Amber is self explanatory, and Mikado is a somewhat uncommon word for yellow. _

_Fun Fact #21: Alban Radley literally means 'White Red Meadow.' _

_Fun Fact #22: His glasses are based on Yukishiro Enishi's from Rurouni Kenshin. Actually, visually speaking he's more of a 50/50 cross between Yukishiro Enishi and a Male Weiss._

_Fun Fact #23: Dust Shot is an energy drink (that I made up) that is literally about 10% concentrated lightning Dust. Guaranteed to prevent the drinker from sleeping for at least five hours!(Disclaimer; the makers of Dust Shot accept no responsibility for potential deaths by electrocution or overdose on their product. Please drink responsibly.) _

_I'm thinking about writing a side-story, or a series of side stories, to this which would cover Wisteria, Ákos, and some of Conway's experiences growing up, along with what happened to Ákos' team, and Wisteria's. (eventually). What do you guys who read this think? Let me know in a PM or a review! _

_Thanks, as always to my stellar beta, Alsc Petrelli Winchester Stark, who will hopefully change her handle to something smaller and easier to write soon. She has just informed me that she will not. _

_Edited 7/25/2015: Minor edits, mostly Taiyo's hair and outfit._

_Edited again 11/21/2016. Minor cleaning up, changing names. _

_Edited again 10/20/2015. Uintah's speech change. _

_Edited 11/6/16. Changing names, overhauling some things. _


	5. First Impressions

RWBY: A Fox's Tale Chapter 5

The First Day

Conway hurried after the other students across the wide gangplank. After his impromptu and somewhat painful meeting with the floor on the airship, he had been left somewhat behind the crowd. With quick, sure steps, each of which brought another twinge of pain to his tail, the Fox Faunus strode past a boy wearing a hoodie whose head was buried in a trash can.

Weird.

From the sounds emanating from the metal can, Conway deduced that the boy was rapidly and enthusiastically emptying the contents of his stomach.

Ah… less weird.

Conway winced in sympathy, but continued on his way. At least that wasn't him, he thought grateful that his species as a rule was less susceptible to diseases and weaknesses. Like airsickness.

The gangplank gave way to a wide paved thoroughfare, lined with trees and shrubs. Their presence was a welcome bit of nature in this man-made construction of concrete, glass, and steel. A large, circular courtyard was interposed roughly halfway between the dock and the main campus of the school itself, and it was here that many of his fellow students had congregated. Beyond the courtyard, the thoroughfare continued until it reached a much larger semicircular courtyard, this one paved with dark grey stone and edged with tall columns.

Conway slowed his frantic pace when he caught sight of the one girl he _really_ did not want to see. That little red-hooded weapons junkie was currently chattering to her gold-haired sister about the weapons carried by various other students.

If Conway had felt anything save annoyance for the girl, he would have thought her antics quite amusing, but seeing as the girl had hounded him relentlessly during their years at Signal (having apparently had nothing better to do), he did not exactly feel much fondness towards her.

More like implacable annoyance.

To make matters worse, the fox Faunus knew that with the girl's rapid glances in every direction, it was only a matter of time before she spotted him.

"Oh, that is about ten pounds of _nope _in a two pound bag," Conway remarked to himself, casting about for an escape. Just as he was about to give up all hope of finding a place to lay low, he caught sight of an oak tree, taller than the surrounding foliage that was growing rather close to the courtyard. "I guess that's the best option."

Memories be damned, if it was the best place to hide; so be it.

With the stealthy grace natural to his species, Conway edged off of the path, keeping out of sight of most, if not all of the other students. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally put the tree's trunk between him and the courtyard, its impressive girth shielding him from that red-cloaked menace. Hopefully, now that they were at Beacon, he would be able to avoid her more easily than he had been able to at Signal, since this academy was much larger.

The blond glanced around furtively. Maybe now was a good time to indulge in a bit of tree climbing? Ever since that day in the park, Conway had always felt safer in the branches of a tree than sitting at its base. Not to mention the fact that his then-newly discovered skill in the art had helped him to survive for a week on that island that Ákos had left him on. Terror was a great motivator. As was frustration, a great thirst for revenge and a healthy dose of rage.

Ákos laughed about it now, but back then he lived in unbridled fear. A pissed off fox Faunus is a cunning and deadly fox Faunus, especially if the overprotective deer Faunus with impeccable aim is nearby.

The blond gave another furtive glance around, before he gave in to his urge and quickly shimmied his way up the trunk, helped on his way by a low-hanging branch. It was a tree built for climbing. Four or five branches above that one found Conway nestled quite securely in the rather dense foliage. Perfect camouflage, though he felt slightly off balance due to his hidden tail. He wished that he could bring it out for extra safety, but he would rather risk falling than being unmasked. His current seating position offered him a good view of the courtyard below, and he glanced downward just in time to see the Red-Hooded Annoyance talking to a white-haired girl with a white outfit after tripping over the latter's luggage.

Figures. She always was clumsy. One time, when she was bothering him, she accidentally used too much of her Speed Semblance and ran straight into a pond. It had reportedly taken her more than half an hour to get the pond weed out of her hair after that one. Privately, Conway believed that incident was what prompted her to cut her hair short.

Though, he mused as he released his flute from its holster, in his admittedly limited experience, talking generally referred to a fairly equal exchange of information between two parties. What he was bearing witness to was more akin to the white-haired girl berating the red-hooded one for what seemed to him like an honest mistake. Conway's eyes widened a bit in apprehension when White started shaking what looked like a vial of Dust in front of Red's face. He noticed that the other students also made themselves scarce.

That stuff was dangerous if not used properly.

Surely she couldn't be so abysmally idiotic as to actually wave a potentially damaged vial of Dust in someone's face, could she? Conway thought that it was fairly basic knowledge to all aspiring Huntsmen or Huntresses that Dust was a highly volatile substance that was meant to be used _carefully_, not waved about like a leaf in the wind. Conway squinted. Was that… Yes. Yes it was.

A fine cloud of red Fire Dust was being shaken from the vial every time White gestured with it. By the look on Red's face, she had already inhaled some of the reactive powder. Conway braced himself against the limbs and trunk of the tree and covered his ears in preparation for the explosion he knew was coming.

Three…. Two…. One…

He was not disappointed when, several seconds later, Red sneezed, setting off all the Fire, Ice, and Lightning Dust in the immediate vicinity with a satisfying BOOM. Thankfully, since the dust was widely dispersed, the explosion was more sound than force, but the resulting plume of smoke was still rather large for the minimal amount of destruction it had caused.

An unbelievably good continuation to what seemed to be an incredibly bothersome day.

Unbelievably, White seemed to only be more upset with Red than with herself, and Conway just rolled his eyes at the ever increasing volume**. **

Girls were loud.

As he brought his flute to his lips and began to play a simple tune to drown out the horrible noise that assaulted both sets of his sensitive ears. However, instead of letting the notes fill the air, the blond activated his Semblance and _bent_ the sound waves into a shell around his body, without losing focus on the song he was playing. This was something he tried to do whenever he had the time; it was an effective training method for his Semblance. Despite many hours of practice, the blond had yet to completely finish even one song without either losing some sonic waves or missing some notes. Despite his lack of success, Conway kept at it, knowing that it would pay off one day.

But that would not be today.

All semblance of control slipped through his fingers as he caught sight of the black and white clad figure leaving the courtyard. Could that possibly be Bryony? She certainly moved with the same easy grace as his first and only childhood friend**, **at least from what little he could remember about her.

In his excitement at possibly being reunited with his first friend, Conway momentarily lost control of his Semblance. This had the rather unfortunate effect of allowing all the pent up sound waves to break free of his control in a discordant wail that sounded eerily reminiscent to a Nevermore's cry. Conway winced as he quickly scrambled out of the tree and after the third girl. Hopefully no one had heard that…

"Hey!" Conway yelled, "Wait up! Bryony! It's me, Conway!"

The black and white wearing girl froze momentarily at the sound of the shriek, her hand instantly finding its way to the hilt of her weapon. After quickly canning the area, she dropped her hand back to her side just in time to hear Conway calling. The girl turned to face him and Conway stopped short when he caught a glimpse of her face. Amber eyes, outlined lightly with purple eyeliner locked with surprised green ones.

Disappointment was all Conway felt as he slowed to a walk. There was a certain familiarity to her features, but she was not his childhood friend, as he had first thought. The similarities between this girl and Bryony were uncanny, but once he saw her up close, they were glaringly obvious. His friend had had grey-green eyes, not the cool amber that this girl had, and her face had been a different shape. The unfamiliar girl gave him a quizzical look that he consciously ignored, not bothering to register the confused suspicion in her eyes while he walked past her going far more quickly than he was normally wont to do.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else." Conway offered halfheartedly with slumped shoulders. The girl looked like she was contemplating stopping him to ask what that was all about, but apparently decided against it when she saw the look of disappointment written all over his features.

Conway knew it was too good to be true. Two old friends who hadn't seen each other in years, suddenly reuniting at school of all things? What had he been smoking?

Conway walked a short distance down the path, only to stop short when a pale hand grabbed him by the shoulder. Instinct took over for a brief moment and Conway shrugged the hand off and whirled around, drawing _Spritely Whisper_ in mid-turn. He didn't extend the blade though, not wanting to be expelled for attacking another student. When his mind snapped out of what he dubbed Survival Mode, he noticed that he was brandishing his weapon at the girl he had mistaken for Bryony. She had apparently grabbed her own weapon from her back before he could see her move, meaning she was quite fast, probably faster than him, if her ready stance were anything to go by.

Conway held up his empty right hand in a gesture of peace as he holstered Spritely Whisper again. "Sorry about that," Conway began, "I don't like to be touched, at least, not when I'm not expecting it."

Silence.

"It's alright, I should have warned you," The girl replied a moment later as she put up her own weapon, a cleaver-like sword with a pistol handle attached to a ribbon. "I'm Blake. What was that back there? Who is Bryony?"

And cue the awkward silence.

Conway stiffened for a moment, the name bringing up bittersweet memories when she said it. "An old friend who looked a lot like you, except that she was a…"Conway's voice trailed off in realization when he took in the sight of the slightly-twitching bow that decorated the top of Blake's head, "…Faunus."

There was no mistaking the glimmer of apprehension that flashed across Blake's features at the last word. Similarly, Conway was shocked that there was another Faunus hiding their heritage in this class, and had no idea how to proceed. He opened his mouth to say…something, anything, but the moment he did, Blake vanished with a slight blur of speed.

Conway could honestly say he didn't know how to feel about that reaction. On one hand, he knew how his fellow Faunus felt, after all his own identity had been either guessed or suspected by several students before they even arrived, and his own reaction had been fear and frustration. The fear of knowing other people, _humans_, knew that you weren't like them was one he was intimately familiar with.

On the other hand, she could have given him the benefit of the doubt and stuck around for at least a minute or two, to let him explain himself. Conway almost laughed at the hypocrisy. Here he was, blaming a fellow Faunus for not doing something that he also did not do.

"Ianthe! Where did you go?" An energetic voice broke Conway from his thoughts. The blond glanced over his shoulder to see the red-haired boy from the airship racing towards him at a speed that he could only describe as 'worrying.' Conway stepped to the right in order to avoid being trampled as the other boy skidded to a stop beside him. Before Conway could ask even a single question, he was bombarded by the other boy's rapid speech.

"Hey, I know you; you were on the transport talking to that blindfolded girl! Hi! What's your name? I'm Taiyo Akairo, but you can call me Tai! Have you seen my sister Ianthe, anywhere? She's about this tall," Here, the newly named Taiyo held his hand a few inches above his own head, "Has white hair, violet eyes, a weird robe thing, and is way too serious about stuff!"

Amazingly, the red-haired boy said all of this with a single breath, while maintaining his exuberant tone. His bright green eyes were _alive_ with excitement and mirth, as though he were simply happy to be happy, and more than willing to show and share that happiness with others. Conway could feel himself growing a bit more cheerful simply from being in the presence of such a beacon of positive feelings.

Why did he always attract the strange ones, he internally bemoaned. First the nature-sensing rabbit, then her well-informed friend, a frickin' _giant_ ox Faunus with monstrous strength, his pint-sized friend with a grip of actual ice, then a Dust-damned _blind_ girl that could apparently sense _secrets_, another Faunus hiding her heritage, and now, this too-happy red-haired guy!

"Well, my name's Conway Kieran, you can call me Conway. And, sorry, but I haven't seen anyone by that description lately. I saw her on the airship, but I don't know what happened after that. Probably has something to do with being one of the last off of the ship." Conway replied, rubbing his hand on his neck while looking slightly sheepish. Being the last off the ship was kind of embarrassing, even though it hadn't really been his fault.

"Hey, no problem, long shot anyway, though how I managed to lose her in less than ten minutes is a mystery. It usually takes way longer. Speakin' of which… Hmm…." Taiyo suddenly stopped walking and just _stared_ at Conway. Emerald green eyes focused on the fox Faunus, their owner put one hand up to his chin as if deep in thought.

Conway felt a bead of sweat roll down his spine and soak into his tail wrappings. What was up with this guy? The tense standoff continued for another moment before Taiyo grinned.

"Hey, you look strong! You wanna have a little fight with me before we go to wherever we need to go?"

Through supreme force of will, Conway managed to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor. Was this guy serious? They had barely been off the transport for half an hour, and he wanted to fight?

"Are you sure that's the best idea, Tai? We probably have some sort of test tomorrow and if one of us gets hurt now, it'll only make it harder to pass." Conway reasoned, hoping against hope that Taiyo would accept.

"Yep! If you're worried about getting hurt, then light contact only." Taiyo's emerald eyes started to water and he looked at Conway pleadingly. He gave an admirable impression of a puppy that had just been doused with water, and looked similarly begging and pathetic. "Come ooooon~" the red-haired boy whined, "Ianthe never lets me fight strong people!"

Of course.

Conway tried to resist the soaked-puppy look that the redhead was giving him, but his resolve ultimately broke when he made the mistake of looking directly at Taiyo's face. He sighed and shrugged off his coat, leaving it and his weapons off to one side of the path.

"Fine, but I warn you, I'm not the best at hand-to-hand combat, so if you're expecting a rival, I'd suggest you look elsewhere." Conway warned as he shrugged off his jacket and removed his weapons from his belt. The fox Faunus placed his equipment off to one side of the thoroughfare before he crouched into a loose defensive stance. His tail twinged in discomfort again, causing him to wince slightly. It was so much easier to fight with his tail out! His balance and flexibility were severely affected by the cumbersome wrapping and coiling around his waist.

Taiyo unfastened his gauntlets and greaves and laid them next to Conway's things before lowering into a fighting stance of his own. "Don't worry about that, Con! This is how you get better! By fighting someone more skilled than yourself!"

"Alright then. Ready?" Conway inquired with a shake of his head.

"Always!"

With a wordless cry, Taiyo dashed forward with astonishing speed, right fist already drawn back. Conway slipped to the side and grabbed Taiyo's right wrist with his left hand as the redhead tried to punch him in the jaw. Undaunted, Taiyo tried a left hook, but it was deflected by Conway's other hand.

Taiyo wrenched his arm out of Conway's grasp, pulling the blond off balance. The red-haired boy jabbed at Conway's midsection but he blocked. Undeterred, Taiyo followed up a second jab with a lightning fast uppercut that slipped through Conway's defense and hit him right on the chin with enough force to lift him almost two inches off the ground. Even as he staggered back, Taiyo was already on him with a quartet of fast rabbit punches to the sternum, followed up by an explosive kick aimed at his neck that Conway just barely managed to duck under. Grabbing the offending appendage, Conway pulled his opponent off balance and lashed out with a hard right jab directly into Taiyo's face. Instead of the satisfying sound of cartilage cracking, the fox Faunus only heard his own knuckles creaking before his hand erupted with pain. Conway took a few steps back, clutching his injured hand, until he bumped into one of the trees that lined the path. The blond clenched his hand tightly as his Aura repaired the damage, but before his hand fully healed, Taiyo launched a side kick at Conway's midsection, which the blond barely dodged, allowing the tree behind him to take the hit.

What Conway _certainly_ wasn't expecting was the tree to _literally_ split in _half_ from the force of the redhead's kick.

Was this guy made of steel!? If this was a light contact spar, then the blond wasn't at all sure that he ever wanted to face Taiyo going all out. At least, not in a hand-to-hand match without his Semblance.

"Heh, sorry about that, Con." Taiyo said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to do that. It's kinda instinctive for me to use it. That was my Semblance, Enhancement. It makes me stronger than I usually am. That's why my _Shippu Jinrai _doesn't have any projectile capabilities. With Enhancement up, I'd break any kind of ranged weapon built into the gauntlets or greaves."

"Ah, that explains why punching you felt like I was hitting concrete." Conway replied as he shook out his hand. "You want to do me a solid and _not_ activate your Semblance when you challenge someone to a weaponless fight?"

Taiyo grinned in response and got back into his stance. "I don't think I can promise that, Con. It's pretty much instinct now, but hey, you're not half bad at this. You'd probably do better if you could correct your stance a little. Something seems off with your balance."

Conway was saved from continuing the sure-to-be awkward conversation by the gratingly familiar voice of Professor Goodwitch that issued from hidden loudspeakers. Conway didn't bother holding in his sigh of annoyance at hearing the blond Professor's voice again.

_"All first year students, please report to the amphitheater for the orientation speech. Repeat, all first year students, please report to the amphitheater for the orientation speech. Failure to comply will result in immediate expulsion. Thank you."_

Wow, the humor in this one was amazing. She really made you feel comfortable, like you could trust whatever she said. Sarcasm mode off.

"Looks like we won't have time to finish our fight, Tai. She seemed fairly serious about all first years going to this speech." Conway said as he turned to gather his belongings. He reattached his holsters to his belt and tugged the jacket on over his shoulders. "But you really are quite skilled. I'd hate to fight against you in a no holds barred match."

Taiyo's face nearly matched his hair at Conway's somewhat awkward praise. "Aw, shucks, I ain't that good. Ya shoulda seen my _father _fight when he…" The redhead trailed off suddenly, a morose look on his face while he slipped his gauntlets back on. He sat down on the curb and began to pull his greaves on over his pants. Suddenly, he smiled again. "Hey, kinda off-topic, but what's your beef with Professor Goodwitch? I noticed ya didn't look too pleased with her announcement."

Conway thought for a moment before he replied, "I don't know why, but since I met her for my last interview, it seems she's had it out for me. Like she was looking for any excuse to stop me from coming here."

Taiyo's weapon reverted into its collapsed state with a flick of his wrists. "Sounds rough Con. I dunno what to tell ya. Wonder why she gave ya such a hard time though. Doesn't seem like something she'd do. Maybe she's got a problem with you in particular?"

"I don't know where that would have come from though. I only met her a couple of days ago, and it's like she hated me on sight." Conway offered Taiyo a hand up, which the martial artist gratefully accepted.

"Dunno what to say, friend. Maybe things will get better after initiation."

"Here's hoping, Tai." Conway sucked in a long breath before he blew it out in a sigh. "We better get to the amphitheater before we get expelled."

The two teens made it to the amphitheater in short order. Honestly, you'd have to be _horrendously _bad at following directions to get lost trying to find it. There were literally temporary signs set up to help new students find it. The amphitheater was roofed with a glass dome and the walls were lined with raised bleachers that were separated by rectangular panels of dark blue glass. These bleachers were arranged in a circle around a circular stage with a tall and ornate backdrop that vaguely reminded Conway of a pipe organ that was edged with panels of blue light. A series of tall, gray arches lined the room below the bleachers. Despite the domed glass ceiling, the room had a very dark, almost oppressive feel. Taiyo continued to talk as he and Conway entered the room.

"That was a good fight, Con. We should do it again, only no holds barred next time. If you'd like, I can help you out with your hand-to-hand fighting."

Conway was taken aback by Taiyo's offer. He'd just met this guy not even an hour ago, and he was offering him help? Was that just who the other boy was, someone who chose to help others, regardless of personal cost? Or was it because the redhead thought he was human, like him?

Conway weighed his options and replied in an unsure voice. "I think I'd like that, Tai."

"Well then, I look forward to it. We'll have you up to scratch in no time. Then you can be a proper rival or a student! I've always wanted one of those!" His eyes almost seemed to catch fire at that point, glinting like gemstones in the sun.

Conway chuckled a bit in response, "I guess I have a long way to go before I can really challenge you, huh?"

"Hey look!" Taiyo gestured to a figure on the edge of the crowd. "_There's_ Ianthe! You want to meet her?"

Before Conway could answer, Taiyo had already waved the taller girl over. "Ian, this is Conway Kieran, Con, this is Ianthe 'Yan' Aega."

Ianthe was a tall girl clad in a dark blue robe with wide, billowing sleeves. Conway could see a few long locks of pure white hair peeking out from under her hood, and when he chanced a glance lower, he saw that her skin was so white it was nearly translucent. Her facial features were sharp, but decidedly feminine, and her unique, pale violet eyes caught his gaze with a burning intensity. And for the umpteenth time that day, Conway felt a disturbing sense of being judged. After a few moments, the albino girl spoke.

"If this is the first time you've seen an albino, a word of advice if I may." Her voice was soft and airy like the wind that flowed over the ocean on calm days back in his hometown, but with an undertone of surprising strength. "We don't like being stared at, any more than a Faunus likes being mocked for their animal features."

Conway ducked his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, Aega. I didn't mean to stare."

"It's alright, Kieran. Just a tip for the future. And my name is Ianthe, please use it. Anyone who my little brother claims as a friend is able to do that much. Just don't ever call me Yan."

"I'll call you by your name if you call my by mine, deal?" Ianthe gave a measured nod in acquiescence. "Wait… Tai's your brother? Forgive me for saying this, but you don't look much alike."

"That's because my family…"

Whatever Ianthe was about to say was drowned out by Headmaster Ozpin clearing his throat from behind a microphone on the stage. Ianthe glanced at Conway in a way that promised answers later as the Headmaster began his speech.

**"Ahem… I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."** Ozpin paused and surveyed the crowd of first year students, before he continued, seeming vaguely disappointed. **"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."** His piece said, Ozpin took a step back and began to leave.

As the Headmaster walked off the stage, supported by his cane, Professor Goodwitch stepped up to the microphone to give one last piece of advice to the gathered students, **"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed!"**

Conway glanced at Taiyo and Ianthe, only to find the former pumping his fist in the air in apparent excitement. "Did you hear that? That means I have a whole _night_ to train! C'mon Yan! Let's go!" Without another word, the redhead dashed out the door.

Ianthe gave a long-suffering sigh and drew the palm of her hand across her cheek. "Sorry, but when he gets like this, I've learned that it's better to follow him and stop him from hurting himself. I'll just tell you that Tai didn't have a very happy life before he came to us and the rest isn't mine to tell. He'll tell you if he wants to." The albino girl glanced over her shoulder and rolled her pale violet eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stop the idiot from training himself to death. See you later, Conway."

Maybe Taiyo was the weird one.

"Yeah, maybe I'll see you at Initiation. Take care, Ianthe." The robe-wearing girl waved a hand over her shoulder without looking back, allowing her loose sleeve to slip down to her elbow. Before she lowered her arm, Conway caught sight of a metal frame that fitted over the entirety of Ianthe's hand and her lower arm over a tight-fitting black sleeve. The intricate framework wrapped around her forearm in delicate spirals of silvery metal that looked like they continued further up to her shoulder at least, but before Conway could determine the device's function, Ianthe lowered her pale hand and the flowing sleeve of her robe-like garment hid her arm once again.

Conway stood for a moment, looking after his two new… acquaintances (?), before he followed the rest of the students out a different door. The fox Faunus scanned the crowd for any familiar faces and almost instantly caught sight of a familiar, tall and broad-shouldered figure keeping close to the edge of the crowd. Conway debated calling out to the ox Faunus, but was vividly reminded of how the blue-haired giant had nearly crushed his second favorite hand earlier that day and decided that his fellow Faunus could fend for himself. He certainly had the strength to. His bicep was as big as that one blond guy's head for Dust sake!

The fox Faunus shook off the niggling feeling of guilt that tried to worm its way through his gut as he moved to let the bulk of the other students hide him from Owen. This effort paid off as the larger boy was soon distracted by his diminutive companion from the airship as the group filed in to a locker room.

Along with the other students, Conway was quickly assigned a rocket locker and given a brief explanation on its capabilities by the Assistant Headmistress. Oddly enough for a responsible adult, she made no move to stop the hoodie-wearing boy who had been throwing up at the docks earlier from being shoved into a locker and promptly launched into the sky.

Quite the respectable and responsible teacher this one, possibly letting a student get killed right in front of her.

Hm.

Conway unsheathed Wisteria's _Stinger_ from his jacket and hung it by its ring on a hook embedded in the locker's wall, followed by _Blitz_ in its holster and _Spritely Whisper_ in its holder. The handgun had undergone a few drastic changes from the time he obtained it. As it was designed to be a modular weapon, Conway had quickly learned that it was a simple matter to customize it with different part modules. Currently the Standard Bullet module _Blitz_ had come equipped with had been supplanted by a better Dust Bullet module, and a Wire Coil module Conway had received from Ákos for his last birthday. This gave _Blitz_ some grappling capabilities, but the wire was not terribly durable.

Conway sighed as he closed the locker door. One module the fox Faunus hadn't been able to track down was the rare and coveted Beam Blade Adapter that allowed weapons like Blitz to turn into a beam projector powered by Dust. That, along with the Charge Shot module that took the wielder's Aura to increase bullet speed, made up his dream loadout for his gun. He already missed the familiar weight of his weapons. At least he still had his knife in its pouch at the small of his back.

Luckily for his fellow blond, Beacon seemed to have a method of retrieving the lockers quickly, which meant that the guy was more shaken than injured by his impromptu flight. This unplanned foray into the sky allowed the rest of the students a chance to store their weapons and munitions in their respective lockers before they were hustled out of the locker room and into another hallway that led to the ballroom.

The chamber was a large affair, lined with columns and large, rectangular windows with dark red curtains. The dying sunlight gleamed dully off of the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, painting them a lackluster gold color. Motes of dust hung in midair, disturbed from their places of rest by the crowd of students that entered through a large set of doors between two intricate staircases that led to an upper level. Another large set of double doors stood in the middle of each wall, presumably leading either to balconies, or to another part of the school. A large pile of bedrolls had been placed in the room's center, apparently intended for the students to use.

In a way, it made a certain, twisted kind of sense. After all, why bother assigning dorms or personal rooms to students who hadn't been assigned partners or teams yet, or who might not survive the initiation tomorrow?

Conway shook his head as he retrieved one of the bedrolls for himself. Since when did he have such depressing thoughts?

Since now, apparently.

Seeing as the sun had already dipped below the horizon, Conway sought out the most secluded piece of floor he could find, eventually claiming a space near one of the large doors that led deeper into the academy. As he was unrolling the sleeping pad that the school had provided, he felt, rather than saw, someone walk up behind him. Conway turned to look, and saw it was the brown and yellow clad girl from the airship that morning.

"So, was there something you wanted from me?" Conway asked somewhat sarcastically as he shrugged off his jacket.

"I wish to sleep here. Leave." The girl commanded gesturing off to a spot near the center of the room. "You can sleep over there. Of course, I'd prefer if higher-class individuals, such as myself, didn't need to share space with the common rabble, but," She waved her hand dismissively, "As needs must, I suppose."

Conway felt a flare of annoyance as he listened to the girl's, admittedly beautiful voice. Who was she to tell him where he could sleep?

"Well, sorry princess. This 'commoner' was here first, so you can go find somewhere else to spend the night."

How's that for negotiation?

For a second Conway thought that the girl was actually going to stamp her foot in anger. Her yellow eyes narrowed in frustration and her cheeks flushed red. Her lips were drawn into a vicious sneer as she shot back acidly, "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"Should I?" Conway returned calmly. Seriously, what was this girl's issue?

"I am Amber, last scion of the Mikado family of Mistral, Heiress of the Mikado Conglomerate, runner up for the Mistral Regional Championship for …"

"All that and _still_ not the one going to sleep on this section of floor here. Sorry princess, but as far as I'm aware, the floor is first-come, first-served, and you don't even have your sleeping pad."

Amber's eyes almost _glowed _from the pent-up fury of her Aura as she generated a large, _tangible_ hexagon of pure yellow Aura in her right hand. The shape was obviously part of her Semblance, given its apparent strength.

She obviously had anger management issues of worrying proportions.

What's more, seeing the construct of Aura jogged Conway's memory of this girl. The fox Faunus had seen the news on the old TV set one of his fellow orphans had repaired for a school project. Six years prior, one of the first true terrorist acts of the then-peaceful White Fang had taken place at a business summit. The attendees of this meeting were among Vale's most prominent families, including the visiting Mikado family.

A bomb had gone off just before the meeting started and devastated the entire conference center, killing almost the entire Mikado family, several members of the Spade family of Spade Electronics, and crippling almost everyone else, save for one young girl, who had activated her Semblance for the first time. She had shielded herself and one other Mikado, who later died of injuries sustained from where she hadn't been covered by the girl's Semblance.

That girl, presumably, stood before him now with that same formidable Semblance floating above her hand.

Ah, Dust.

"Last chance, peasant. Move, or I move you."

Conway drew in a deep breath and released it in a sigh. "So that's how it's going to be, huh? Fine then." For not the first time, he wished that he hadn't left _Spritely Whisper_ in his locker. He'd just have to try this without his focus, and _hopefully _avoid shattering any windows. Before the brown-haired girl could make good on her threat, Conway placed two fingers in his mouth and let out a single piercing whistle. Enhanced by his Semblance, that whistle was roughly equivalent in strength to the sound component of a flashbang grenade. Even with her apparently formidable defensive ability; Amber was taken by surprise at the suddenness of the aural assault. The brown haired girl's Semblance collapsed around its mistress as she fell to her knees and clutched at her ears.

"If it means so much to you, then you can have this section of floor," Conway began, "A word of advice, Mikado. You might get better results if you request, instead of command." The fox Faunus stood and brushed some imaginary dust from his knees. "I hope you're happy."

With that, the blond picked up his jacket and left, grabbing a second sleeping pad from the diminished pile on his way. The fox Faunus nimbly vaulted up the stairs, heedless of the muffled angry curses and general sounds of displeasure coming from most of the room. After all, Amber was the only person who actually knew that he caused that whistle, so he was relatively safe from retaliation. Of course, that was assuming that the girl's pride would prevent her from telling others about his gift, but that was a chance he was willing to take.

Conway quickly unrolled his new bedroll in a corner of the curiously empty upper walkway. The sounds of a minor scuffle drew his attention back to the lower floor. Unsurprisingly, it was that red-hooded girl and her sister, but what surprised him was the fact that Blake was leaning against a wall with a book and a lit candelabra. He thought for sure she'd have left Beacon, having had her identity as a Faunus guessed, but then again, he hadn't, so… yeah.

Maybe she was hoping that he would die during initiation tomorrow? Or was she putting some faith in him?

Conway shed his cargo pants before he drew the blanket up to his shoulders and put his jacket on top of that. Once he was covered, he slipped his shirt off, an act which left him clad in just his boxers and hat. His wrapped fox tail uncurled from around his waist, eliciting a sigh from its owner. Finally, blessed relief. He knew he was taking an awful risk by leaving his tail exposed, but he knew from painful experience that if he slept with it coiled around his waist, then it would ache unbearably for at least a day afterward. The chance of exposure was nothing compared to that agony. He soon fell asleep to the sound of soft breathing once the dust from the sister's scuffle cleared.

**~AFT~**

Conway woke up what seemed like mere moments later, before the birds even started their songs. The fox Faunus groggily sat up in his bedroll, paying no heed to the blanket and jacket that slid down, and swiped a hand across his bleary green eyes. Conway let out a jaw-cracking yawn and eased himself to his feet. The fox Faunus stretched out the kinks in his muscles as best he could without waking anyone else up, and quickly coiled his tail around himself again. Ever since Ákos left him on that island for a week, the blond had never been able to sleep comfortably on anything lower than a standard bed, probably from the ingrained fear of predators that incident left him with. Thank Dust for the ability to see in the dark.

Conway quickly rolled up his bedroll and pulled on his shirt and pants, feeling the ever familiar twinging in his tail as he did so.

"That's the last time_ I_ willingly sleep on the floor…" The blond remarked softly as he gingerly made his way down the stairs. Conway carefully picked his way around the sleeping bodies on the floor, taking great care to not step on any by accident. He had one or two close calls, but thankfully his Faunus reflexes and balance enabled him to make his way to the door that he remembered led to the locker room. He wanted to grab a shower before any of the other students awoke. Considering it was around five or six in the morning, the chances of being discovered were fairly slim.

Conway selected the furthest shower from the door on the men's side of the co-ed locker room, delighting in the fact that there were built-in dispensers for soap and shampoo in each one. Stacks of soft-looking gray towels were placed near each curtained-off cubicle. The blond quickly stripped down and hung his clothes from the day before on a hook outside the shower and proceeded to remove the tight wrapping from his tail. It took all of his self-control to hold in his sigh of relief when the formerly matted-down fur fluffed out as it was suddenly freed from its confinement. Conway quickly turned the water on as hot as he could bear it and scrubbed himself down with the provided soap. He took some time and washed his tail and fox ears twice, in an attempt to cover his natural fox scent with that of the manmade soaps. You could never be too careful with the scent, it is the biggest giveaway.

Some of the less common Grimm relied on hearing and scent more than vision to track and stalk their prey. These Grimm seemed to be drawn more to Faunus for their animal scent than to humans, so smart Faunus quickly learned to cover their scent as much as possible.

Conway finished his shower and began to dry himself off with one of the gray towels provided by the school. He sighed in mild frustration when he went to wring out his tail. The troublesome appendage retained water like nobody's business and always took too long to dry. Too bad he did not have the time to use a hair dryer, but as that would take at least half an hour, the Faunus didn't dare test his luck again.

After he dressed (with clean boxers, thank you very much!) and brushed his teeth, Conway made his way to the dining hall, hoping for some food before initiation. He was not disappointed.

The Hall, like the ballroom, was a grand affair, with large doors and tall windows. The ceiling was very high, and decorated with stone arches that were in turn held up by round stone pillars. The impressive floor space was filled with perhaps forty tables, each easily capable of seating twelve students with room to spare. Along the left wall was what looked like a fully stocked breakfast buffet.

Conway dished himself a plate of waffles with syrup, bacon, and fruit with a few cartons of milk. In a fit of rebellion, the Faunus had completely ignored the sign that said 'One Per Student,' and taken as many as he could carry with his food. He'd apparently gotten to the buffet just in time though, because the orange-haired girl from the transport dashed in seconds after he sat down and immediately drank _all_ the Forever Fall syrup, a feat which was equal parts disturbing and impressive.

At least, it seemed to impress her stoic companion. Other students began trickling in while the Faunus watched the girl chug an actual gallon of the sweet sugary liquid. Conway merely shook his head. At least his habit of attracting weird people seemed to have abated for now…

Jinx.

That assumption was thrown straight out a fifth story window when the redheaded boy who had been hassling Uintah on the transport the day before and his black-haired companion sat themselves at his table.

"These spots taken?" The first boy, Morgan, if Conway remembered correctly, asked after the pair had sat down. His plate was almost completely covered in various forms of protein, from sausages to bacon and eggs. Nothing too odd about that, except that the pile of meat was completely covered in mustard.

"No, feel free." Conway replied, engrossed as he was in his own meal.

"Thank you," The other boy, Blaise, added. His plate was more balanced than his friend's, but the portions were much smaller. Now that he had a chance to observe from up close, Conway saw a strange, thin metal frame under Blaise's wrists where the sleeve failed to cover the gap between itself and its wearer's gloves. Perhaps part of his weapon? The sunglasses were sort of disconcerting as well.

The unlikely trio sat in silence broken only by the sound of eating and Morgan's horrendous table manners. Honestly, the gold-coated boy shoveled food into his mouth like it was going out of style, barely taking the time to swallow, much less chew. Soon, Blaise apparently grew tired of either Conway's silence, or his companion's eating habits, and asked, "So. Who are you, then?"

"A polite person would introduce themselves first," Conway responded after he finished off a piece of bacon.

"True enough. I am Blaise Noir, and my piggish companion here is Morgan Kaine."

"Conway Kieran." The Faunus replied. For whatever reason, these two gave him an unsettling feeling. Probably because of Morgan's actions against Uintah the day before. Either way, they set him on edge.

"So, Kieran, what is your opinion of this academy so far?" Blaise asked as he jerkily carved his food into bite-sized pieces.

"The facilities are impressive, but so far, that is all to write home about. Hopefully, after initiation, things will be a bit more exciting." Conway wiped his mouth on a paper napkin, before he continued. "If that is all, I need to go and make sure my weapon is ready. Maybe I'll see you later."

"Good luck, Kieran. We'll all probably need it."

Conway waved over his shoulder without looking back.

Something just didn't feel right about those two.

**~AFT~**

Conway nearly sprinted back to the locker room, not stopping until he reached locker 717, the one he had been assigned. The Faunus quickly ran his Scroll, an older model he had received as a gift, across the scanner, which opened with a slight hiss from hidden pneumatics. Conway retrieved _Blitz _and its holster after checking its Dust supply and the condition of its parts, which he deemed acceptable. _Spritely Whisper _was next. The Faunus twisted the end opposite the mouthpiece and gently pulled. The end cap released its grip on the main tube and slid out, taking the tiny Dust conversion system with it. Conway replaced the small and cracked Lightning Dust crystal with a slightly larger one made of Fire Dust. He really needed to get some more Dust, what he had was barely attuned to his weapon. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

The blond ran a whetstone over his weapon's edge a few times. Never hurt to have a sharp blade. Maintenance complete and he reattached the holsters to his belt. Just before he closed the locker, Conway glanced at the _Stinger_ Wisteria had given him. The fox contemplated bringing it with him, but ultimately decided against it.

"Next time, _Stinger._" Conway promised as he closed the locker, which clicked shut as locks slid into place.

The fox managed to avoid any awkward conversations by escaping the locker room and hiding out near one of the academy entrances until he heard another announcement over the PA system.

_"All First year students, please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation."_ Came the voice of the Ice Witch.

"Finally, time for some action."

**~AFT~**

The group of students was mostly silent after they left the locker rooms. Some appeared to be trying to psych themselves up for the upcoming challenge, and of those about a third seemed to be psyching themselves _out_ instead.

Conway stifled a chuckle at the nervous look the blond guy who had been throwing up at the docks and gotten shoved into his locker the day before had on his face. Seriously, the kid looked like he was about to vomit again, this time out of sheer nervousness. The fox Faunus had to give the other blond credit though, despite his apparent terror, the other boy showed no signs of giving up.

Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch led the group of first year students to the edge of a tall cliff that overlooked a vast forest. Somewhere off to his left Conway could hear Uintah practically dancing in place out of happiness at the sight and feel of so much nature in one area.

The fox Faunus glanced around to see if he could spot any of the others that he met on the transport. Owen was off to his right, while Ianthe and Taiyo hung towards the edge of the group. The redhead talked animatedly to his adoptive sister waving his arms for emphasis. Uintah and Tyrian were ahead, near the front of the group. The rabbit Faunus looked nigh catatonic with happiness at the sight of so much nature in one place, while Tyrian held her arm, steering her gently towards the cliffs with the other students.

Conway caught sight of River near the back of the group; her footsteps were sure and steady. Were it not for the blindfold, it would be difficult to determine if the flame-haired girl were truly blind. Amber and Alban walked behind everyone else. The latter's eyes were constantly scanning their surroundings, wary and alert for any potential threat to his ward. In contrast, Morgan and Blaise were near the front of the group, and they walked with easy confidence in their respective strides.

"Students, please stand on these pads," the Headmaster said, gesturing to a row of metal squares that rested on the floor.

Wordlessly, the students all stepped onto their respective plates/ All conversation had ceased, like they had all just now realized that they were all about to undertake what was probably going to be the hardest test of their lives.

"For years, you have been trained to become warriors. And today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Huh, doesn't sound so bad. It actually sounded kind of pretty… In a deadly way. Conway's musing was interrupted by the blond professor's next statement.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have been hearing the assignment of teams. Well, let's put an end to your confusion. You'll be given teammates… Today."

Of course we will. Conway resisted the urge to press the bridge of his nose to stifle the oncoming headache. This one felt like the part of his brain that dealt with making logical choices was trying to strangle itself. He had no doubt that if he kept attending this school, new and exciting types of headaches would be his future for the next few years.

The Headmaster continued, "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired up with someone you could work well." Because we'll be able to tell _that_ within the first few seconds of meeting each other, Conway thought as he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with when you land will be your partner for the next four years."

Seems like a legit and plausible way of knowing whether or not you would make a good team out in the world. Basically, they were all screwed.

Oh Dust… Please don't let it be the red-hooded menace… anyone but her. Conway begged whatever god might be listening. He almost missed the next part of the professor's speech due to his fervent praying.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

A bunch of kids fighting to survive in a deadly forest with little to no chance of survival or help? Hello casualties. Or 'unfortunate accidents' as those in authority liked to call them.

"Uh… What happens if we… I don't know…. Die?" Conway heard Morgan mutter lowly. Oddly, the redhead didn't sound apprehensive. More mocking than anything else, he sounded like he was mocking the headmaster's statement. Well if we die, we die, Conway thought to himself with a barely perceivable twitch in his right eye.

Was he the only one who had paid attention?

The Headmaster pointedly ignored the hoodie-wearing blond's stammered attempts to get his attention and finished. "Good. Now, take your positions."

"Oh, d-!"

That was all Conway had time to shout before he was unceremoniously flung into the forest, followed quickly by the other students.

The perfect beginning for a long, difficult day.

_ Author's Note: _

_ Fun Fact# 22: For those that don't know, Shippu Jinrai means Hurricane Thunderclap. _

_Does anyone actually read these ANs? If you do, I applaud you and offer you this internet cookie! Which is a cookie made of LIES!_

_If you read the AN in last chapter, you would notice that line has been recycled. _

_Thanks as always to my incomparable beta, Alsc Petrelli Winchester Stark, who is by now getting tired of these constant revisions. _

_Edited 11/23/2016. Renaming, and a few other changes to dialog and such.  
_


	6. Initiation Part 1

RWBY: A Fox's Tale

_ Disclaimer is in the first chapter. _

_ Does anyone actually read the Author's Notes at the end of each chapter? If not, I'd like to ask you your opinion on something. _

_I'm thinking about writing a side-story, or a series of side stories, to this which would cover Wisteria, Ákos, and Conway's experiences growing up, along with what happened to Wisteria's team (eventually). What do you guys who read this think? Let me know in a PM or a review!_

_Or just please review in general. It really helps me get motivated to write when I know that people enjoy the story I write._

_Pronunciation Guide: _

_ Ianthe: eyan-Thay_

Chapter 6: Initiation Part 1

If one were to be watching the Emerald Forest of Vale on this early autumn day, they might hear a very strange sound.

"…aaaaaaammnit!"

It was a very strange sound indeed, a sound only heard during great distress and/or the possibility of a grievous injury.

That was the sound of a fox Faunus being flung dozens of feet into the air with little warning or idea of how he was going to land safely. The Faunus in question quickly decided that flying wasn't as fun as it sounded or looked, and the next person to say it was, (read. Ákos Altair) was going to get into a _very _close relationship with his boot.

Conway glanced to his left and saw a small figure casting an ice slide out of his or her hands and literally skating on it down into the trees.

Must've been Wendelin using some Ice Dust.

All around him, students were employing various means of stopping or channeling their otherwise deadly momentum. One girl with bronze armor smashed through several trees before landing perfectly on another. The red-hooded girl accidentally killed a small Nevermore in midflight by crashing into, or rather, through it. Her cry of "Birdie, no!" echoed for almost two seconds before Conway redirected the sound away from all four of his ears.

Poor bird.

The fox glanced to his right just in time to see Owen smash directly into the side of a Large Nevermore. The unfortunate avian collapsed under the force of the giant ox Faunus' impact and fell limply from the sky with its slayer clinging to its ribs. No creature, even a Grimm, deserved that fate.

Poor bigger bird.

Conway turned to his other side and saw Uintah get snatched from midair by a giant net made of living wood and lined with moss. His fellow Faunus was laughing joyously and looking as though she was having the time of her life.

Well… at least she was having fun. Conway had to applaud his fellow Faunus' ingenuity, even if the light-heartedness was a bit unexpected.

Conway reached for his Semblance to try and generate a sonic burst to slow himself down but for the first time he could remember his power slipped from his tenuous grasp. Figures. The one time of serious potential injury and his semblance does not respond. The Faunus bit back a growl of frustration at his inability, followed by a brief flash of fear that his power was gone, had abandoned him like everything else besides his mentor and caretaker.

Conway ruthlessly squashed the terror that blazed through his mind as he drew _Blitz_ and activated its alternate mode with the press of a button. The PMRWS's upper and lower barrel split apart, revealing a thin grappling wire attached to a small spool and a miniscule, but powerful motor. With a pull of the trigger, the wire lashed out of the spool and wrapped around a tree branch. However, Conway knew the tiny motor in the Wire Coil module lacked the torque to stop his momentum entirely, so he yanked on his weapon's handle just as the wire went taut, which caused it to snap off near the coil.

The blond repeated this process several times before he slowed down enough to perch on one of the trees. Conway heaved out a sigh of relief as he clung to the wide branch with one hand, his faithful weapon in the other. That had been a close call.

What were those psychotic people who call professors thinking?

He didn't get much time to relax though. Once he had climbed down from the tree and massaged some feeling back into his right shoulder, Conway activated his Semblance and heard a series of screeches coming from a fair distance away from his current position.

"Whatever that was didn't sound like any Grimm I've ever heard before…" Conway remarked just before a piercing scream that was very much _not_ Grimm in nature echoed from the same direction. "And neither did that. Perfect."

Conway rushed off in the direction the sounds came from, drawing _Spritely Whisper_ and extending the blade to its full length as he ran, heedless of the branches in his way. Rather than waste time dodging the leafy hindrances, he simply opted to cut straight through them. If he were being honest with himself, that scream sounded more angry than scared, but this was his chance to get a partner early, and thus, finish the Initiation early, so it was in his own interest to check it out.

In his haste, he never even noticed the thin silken web he ran through, nor the slender strands that clung to his clothing.

**~AFT~**

River, the epitome of grace that she was, swooped through the sky with little save the rustling of her clothing to mark her passage. The redhead stretched her Semblance to its utmost limit in a vain effort to keep track of all the other students being flung at random into this probably-swarming-with-Grimm-forest. She resisted the urge to swear when she lost track of several of the students in question.

Apparently the trees contained some kind of Aura-negating properties that made the use of her Semblance difficult to say the least.

River drew _Sileigeach Faireoir _and thumbed a hidden switch near the trigger. With a slight mechanical whirr, the shillelagh split along its length and expanded into a sniper rifle sans a scope. Without taking any particular care to aim, River fired four shots directly in front of her to try and slow her descent, but judging from the barely noticable loss of speed the effort was futile.

Everything was so blurry and indistinct! River felt it was almost like trying to see through clouds, if what she could remember as clouds from the days she could see with her eyes was accurate. As she fell, River focused her Aura more tightly in front of her, allowing her soul's energy to envelop her completely as a means to protect her body. It was not a perfect defense by any means, but it was all she had. It was better than suffering grievous injuries.

River quickly considered her options. First, she could do nothing and hope that she had enough Aura to survive impact, which she doubted. Second, she could attempt to grab a hold of any high branches she could, either with her hands, or her weapon. Or third, she could use her last resort, the one her parents had insisted upon and she had scoffed at, saying that the likelihood of its use was almost zero.

The joke was on her, she supposed. One thing was for sure, she would _never_ tell her her father that his ridiculous gadget had been necessary.

As the trees grew ever closer and her panic grew, River made her decision. She slung her weapon back over her shoulder, grabbed the trailing hem of her coat and pulsed a bit of her Aura into the fabric, bringing the Dust matrices hidden within the leaf and vine patterns to life in a brilliant display of light and power. Wind Dust surged from those lines, creating a current of air that allowed her to glide to the center of a fair-sized clearing.

As soon as her feet touched solid ground, River collapsed in sheer relief that her gamble had paid off, and she hadn't been reduced to paste on impact.

"Thank you, overprotective parents who plan for ridiculous eventualities!" River gasped as she regained her breath. "Now, where to find a partner…"

The blind girl wandered for a short time with her weapon in hand before she realized several very important facts. First, she had no idea where she landed, second, she had lost track of the other students, and finally, something so ridiculous she could barely believe it herself.

"I don't know _what_ that Headmaster was thinking when he told a _blind_ girl that the first person she makes _eye contact_ with was going to be her partner!" River ranted as she trudged through the undergrowth, using her weapon to push smaller vines and branches out of her way. "Does he think I'll magically grow eyes just to look into someone else's or something? Ridiculous! I'll show _him_ eye contact when I get out of here…"

The redhead's grousing was interrupted by a series of high-pitched shrieks followed by a strange flapping noise that didn't sound like any kind of bird she had ever heard before. River barely had time to focus her Divination on the sound's source before she was under attack. Dozens of small, bat-like Grimm with wings that her Divination, rather unhelpfully, informed her were razor-sharp.

She barely had time to scream her rage and frustration to the sky before the swarm descended.

**-~AFT~**

Branches broke and shattered under Owen's weight as the Nevermore corpse the massive ox Faunus had been using as a makeshift transport finally disintegrated. He grunted in annoyance as he hit more than a few branches, slowing his fall considerably. He was for once grateful for his constantly active Semblance , as it had the dual effect of improving his physical conditioning and rendering him quite resistant to pain. The side effects weren't really worth it though.

It was perfect for a situation like this, if it ever happened again. It probably would.

Happens every day 'round here, apparently.

After smashing through what felt like an entire forest's worth of tree limbs, Owen landed on the ground, creating a fair-sized round crater in the forest floor. The ox Faunus grinned as he dusted off his blue jeans. _That_ was sure to confuse some people later.

Now, where to look for a partner? The giant remembered seeing that spacey-looking rabbit Faunus land in a large net of plants a little while ago. She had been friendly, at least, more so than her blond friend with the flute. While the ox Faunus contemplated his next move, a loud squeal echoed through the quiet woods. With fearlessness befitting of a Huntsman, the blue-haired teen turned and ran towards the sound, clearing the branches in his path with brute strength.

**~AFT~**

Uintah took the time she was airborne to consider who she wanted to partner with. As was typical for her, the rabbit Faunus was largely unconcerned with the prospect of her demise via massive impact with an unyielding surface.

She was actually quite enjoying the wind on her face, thank you very much! Though she had to admit, holding on to her straw hat with one hand to prevent it being lost was mildly irritating and the whipping sensation was rather unpleasant on her rabbit ears, she wouldn't trade the feeling of freedom for anything.

Now, for a safe landing…

Uintah breathed deeply, drawing in the heady scent of Nature in the Emerald Forest below and felt its vast consciousness stirring in response. She, alone among all of the other Faunus she knew, shared such a deep bond with Nature that she could feel its harmony and presence.

Speaking of which…

Uintah flared her Aura briefly, reaching out with her soul energy to the trees and plants below. With a great groaning noise the wide limb of a stately oak tree whose branches were lined with long strands of dusty tan moss that knitted themselves into a net reached up with impossible flexibility and gently caught the falling Faunus. With great care, like she was made of delicate spun glass, the great tree bent down and carefully deposited the happy Uintah on the ground.

"Thank you, Miss Mossy and Mr. Oaky!" The rabbit Faunus exclaimed with a curtsey. "It would have been bad for Uintah if she had hit the ground." The oak tree gave a remarkable clear impression of being bashful at her thanks, it drew its limbs slightly closer and shuddered a bit. Uintah had always found it easier to understand her planty friends than her non-planty friends… or friend... singular. Who was also her big brother, so did he really count? There was also her big sister, but there was the same problem.

Uintah took in her surroundings with excited eyes before she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Uintah wonders where her friends went," the Faunus remarked, "Do you know where Tyr, Owen, or Conway Kieran are, Miss Mossy and Mr. Oaky?" she asked with a friendly smile. One of the sticks, tipped with tiny green leaves, softly touched her shoulder before it split into three smaller branches and pointed off in several directions.

"Thank you again!" Uintah chirped as the plants moved back to their original position. The rabbit Faunus then proceeded to wander off… in the exact opposite direction any of the branches pointed.

Let it never be said that Uintah had a good sense of direction.

If Uintah had looked back, she would have seen an oak tree with moss-covered branches giving the best impression of facepalming its nonexistent face that a tree was capable of producing.

**~AFT~**

Wendelin allowed themself a rare whoop of delight as they finally let loose some of the wintery fury their body naturally produced as part of their Semblance. A near-solid cone of bright, blue-white Aura streamed from their outstretched hand and formed into an icy slide that evaporated moments after they sped past.

They couldn't really explain it, but they always felt a sense of _relief_ when they used their Semblance, like there was always a terrible pressure in their very soul that was only soothed when they let their power out. When they were younger they could not control their gift and it often lashed out, leaving little but frozen destruction in their wake.

But now after years of exhaustive training, they were able to _mostly _rein in the power of their Unstable Semblance. At least, enough that they could use some small parts of it without fear of causing too much damage to their surroundings. Their special snowsuit helped somewhat with that, though _Khione Blessing_ couldn't contain their Semblance on its own. That was a deliberate act of will on Wendelin's part. But here in the Emerald Forest it seemed that they had better control over their normally raging Semblance.

Maybe it was something in the monster-infested air.

All these reminisces flew through the short teen's mind as they slid toward the ground. Wendelin slowed themself down with a series of long spirals that burned off momentum. When they had gotten fairly close to the ground, no more than ten feet or so, Wendelin leapt from the melting ice slide and clenched their fists.

Just a touch of Aura pulsed through the delicate lines of Fire Dust woven into their gloves. A respectable burst of flame from the thickly padded gloves neatly offset their fall and allowed the tiny teen to land on their feet with no more trouble than an average person walking down a set of stairs.

Wendelin brushed some imaginary dust from their pants as they analyzed the small area they had landed in.

"Let's see here… Berry bushes, animal tracks indicate presence of herbivorous animals nearby, not Grimm, though those remain a distinct possibility, given the Headmaster's warning. Small stream, supports prior herbivore and possible carnivore hypothesis. Judging from its direction and size, water should be potable, save as possible last resort if carried supply runs out. No Grimm presence detected within sight." The short teen of ambiguous gender deduced quickly. "Conclusion; I got very lucky landing here. Now, which way was that temple again?"

Before the little teen could even ponder the concept of leaving the stream, a deep growl resonated from the nearby bushes. Wendelin took a few steps closer with their Fire Gauntlets primed and ready.

They were not prepared for an old Boarbatusk to burst from the bushes, squealing its fury to all who could hear.

They would also deny the girlish scream that followed shortly thereafter.

**~AFT~**

Contrary to most of his classmates, the only feelings that ran through Alban Radley's mind as he fell from the sky were filled with apathy and absolute boredom, along with some annoyance when his half-cape was torn from his shoulder by a strong gust of wind. The bodyguard only took the time to slip his glasses into a hard case that he tucked into an inner pocket of his jacket before he slammed against the ground with enough force to break a majority of his bones. His cane, _Silencia Embrace,_ stabbed into the ground next to his thoroughly pulped form.

That hurt.

If anyone had cared to look at what was left of the teen's body, they would have noticed the multitude of broken bones and shredded open wounds that oozed blood at alarming rates. The crimson fluid soaked Alban's formerly pristine red suit and stained the verdant grass with his life blood. The teen's neck had been wrenched almost completely around, and his head was just barely attached by the tendons and veins in his twisted neck. His left eye had burst in a shower of gore, leaving behind a gaping hole in his face. Alban's right arm had been torn off in the impact and it lay near the planted _Silencia Embrace_. Red-streaked bone-white hair lay limp around the caved-in skull, lips still pulled into a grotesque caricature of a smile that revealed a mouth full of broken teeth.

Mere moments after landing, the heavily damaged body impossibly began to _move._ Torn muscles writhed like tiny worms and knitted together over broken and shattered bone, blood flowed _back into_ Alban's body as ligaments, tendons, and skin fused back together under the guidance of their owner's Aura. The sole remaining orange eye snapped open and focused instantly as its match rapidly reconstituted itself from its pulped state. Shattered teeth reconstructed and severed tongue regenerated in moments before Alban spat a half-congealed glob of blood from his mouth, narrowly missing his severed arm.

With a near-silent sound of annoyance the white-haired teen climbed unsteadily to his feet, which had just finished repairing themselves, and lurched over to his ripped-off arm. Alban picked up the severed limb with unsteady fingers and held it to the stump of his shoulder. His hand and arm twitched and writhed as the shredded bones, veins and tendons reattached themselves to their original home.

Alban snorted in disgust as he tore the remains of his right sleeve off and threw the ruined cloth onto a nearby bush. It could have been worse, the bone-haired teen mused as he stretched his limbs, reveling in the feeling of being whole once more. He could have lost more of his wardrobe than just his sleeve and half-cape. That would have been annoying. The white-haired boy retrieved his glasses from their case and slipped them onto his face before he retrieved his cane.

"That is easily the most impressive healing Semblance I have ever seen," An impressed voice though filtered and tinny, echoed from the woods across the clearing. "You simply must tell me what you call it."

Alban turned towards the voice, and was shocked to see what appeared to be a robot standing across the clearing from him. It was pitch black in color with random white accents and bright blue accent lights and optics, at least six feet tall, and rather bulky. Its left arm gripped a large, contoured shield with a stabbing point on the lowest edge, while the right arm had a blade folded back along its arm under a smaller armored bracer that housed a small gun. Alban was somewhat reminded of the old Atlesian Knight-130 combat android with additional heavy armor, minus the color scheme and weaponry, only it was a bit larger. Almost like the machinery had been moved around to accommodate something else.

The faceplate on the robot's helmet swung upward with a pneumatic hiss, revealing a pale boy with black hair and sunglasses. "Oh where are my manners! I should introduce myself first. My name is Blaise Noir, and this is my weapon, _Aegis Black."_

Alban looked back at the strange boy, head cocked to one side. Awkward silence filled the air for a moment before the other teen continued, "And might I ask who you are?"

Alban rolled his eyes and pulled down his high collar with two fingers, exposing four long, thick scars that stretched diagonally from the underside of his jaw down the length of his neck, ending at his left collarbone.

To Blaise's credit he did not blanch at seeing the horrific reminder of what should have been a mortal injury. "Ah. So I suppose any further questions would be useless then?" Blaise stifled a laugh at Alban's blank stare "Very well. Let us search for the temple then."

Alban turned with a near-silent huff of annoyance and began to make his way through the trees, followed closely by Blaise, who had resealed his helmet.

**~AFT~**

Taiyo let out a loud, whooping laugh of excitement as he tucked his limbs in to achieve greater speed. This was amazing! The redhead wished that he could do this all the time. Maybe he could talk the Headmaster into letting him use those launching pads later… Oh right, landing strategy time.

Boring!

Base-level Enhancement alone probably wasn't enough for his latest, admittedly hare-brained scheme. Despite his durable body and Semblance, he knew his own limits, and knew that if he tried to stop himself with his standard Semblance, he'd probably tear his own arms off. That left him with only one option.

That it was also the most dramatic was merely an added bonus.

"_Plus Ten Percent!_"

Taiyo shouted as he flared his Aura and poured it all into his Semblance. His hair gained golden streaks and his muscles visibly bulged for a moment before they receded back into his normal build. That momentary boost however was all Taiyo needed to grab onto the top of a tall pine tree, which bent under the force of his momentum. The redhead simply let go of the bent tree when he could reach the ground and rolled out of the way.

The poor tree which was obviously not designed for that level of flexibility snapped back to its upright position with a ponderous groan that went unnoticed by Taiyo.

That was the problem with the nature of his Semblance's Plus Scale, Taiyo decided as he dusted himself off, ignoring the twinges from his arms that indicated some strained or possibly torn muscles. It usually came with some sort of backlash when he used it, oftentimes leaving behind some aches and pains.

The Plus Scale worked when he needed it to, and standard Enhancement was good enough for everything else. Though the boost had worn off far more quickly than it usually did, Taiyo wasn't terribly concerned.

The redhead cracked his knuckles and shook out his arms. Even his Plus Scale's advanced Enhancement wasn't enough to keep him from getting injured. His hands and forearms were suffused by a warm, orange glow as his Aura worked overtime to heal the minor muscle tears.

"Right then!" Taiyo proclaimed, slamming his fist into an open palm before he launched into a series of quick punches and kicks that snapped _Shippu Jinrai _into its active state. The bracers and gauntlets split and extended over the redhead's hands and feet, coating them in a thin layer of spiky metal. His fingers were left uncovered by the thin metal gloves and between each knuckle was a short, pointed spur. The boots were tipped with three short, wickedly sharp spikeson the toes.

"Gyahahaha! Time to go wild! Partner, relic, here I come!"

With that, Taiyo dashed off into the woods, punching or kicking whatever happened to get in his way, be it trees, rocks, Grimm, or even unwary partnered students. He caught a glimpse of some brown-haired boy that he vaguely remembered punching in the face the day before, but didn't bother to stop.

**~AFT~**

Ianthe glided through the dense foliage with graceful steps. Her landing had been quite easy to arrange, all it had truly required was careful timing, a bit of wire, and a fair amount of skill.

The albino walked sedately, unconcerned by the sounds of combat and roaring Grimm that echoed through the forest. She was largely unconcerned with the affairs of her fellow students, beyond finding a partner, figuring if other students were here, they obviously had to be able to take care of themselves. She was quickly reminded of the dangers of wandering alone in the forest when she heard a deep growl from behind her. A fully grown Beowolf burst out of the underbrush, but before it reached her, Ianthe slashed her hand through the air. The wolfish Grimm froze in place for a moment before the unfortunate creature simply fell apart in a pile of already-smoking pieces.

Ianthe sighed. "You Grimm are all the same. No challenge, no finesse, no elegance. In the end, you're just a disappointing waste of space."

With a delicate flick of her white fingers, Ianthe retracted her razor strings back into her _Marionette Grace._ These low-level Grimm were so irritating. There was no real risk in fighting them if you were careful, especially one as young as this. Honestly, if she hadn't been as annoyed as she was, the albino wouldn't have even bothered fighting it. Then again, it _was_ the first Grimm she had encountered during this supposed test, so she supposed she shouldn't be ungrateful.

"Where the Dust is everyone else? It's been almost half an hour! If anything, I should've at least heard Tai screaming about _something_ by now… I'm really not sure if I should be worried or relieved that my little brother is either too far away for me to hear, or hasn't found something worth getting overly excited about yet- Hmm?"

Ianthe's musing was interrupted by a deeper growl followed by a strange, high-pitched whine, from right behind her. The albino turned again, her fingers already splayed and razor wire uncoiling from minuscule spools with an ominous _zip_. This time the interfering Grimm was an Ursa Minor, only this time, the creature had frozen in place even before her wires could cut it. That might've been because the top half of its head was missing. As Ianthe looked on in mild interest, the Grimm bear toppled forwards and began to lose its physical form.

A boy with black hair, rectangular glasses, and a white coat was standing behind the fallen Ursa. He held a strange pistol with a folded blade under its wider than average barrel that glowed red with heat. A short cable snaked into the boy's sleeve from the pistol's grip. A matching pistol rested in a holster on his left hip. Both teens simply stared at each other for a few moments before the boy holstered his pistol and used two fingers to push his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Well. Even if you didn't need the help, it looks like we're partners now."

"Indeed." Ianthe replied as she retracted her wires. "My name is Ianthe Aega." She said extending her right arm. Even at full extension, her baggy sleeve still covered her entire arm and hand. The sensation of cloth covering her skin was irritating at times, but far less so than getting painful and potentially fatal sunburn.

"I'm Tyrian Sparrow, but my friends call me Tyr." the boy replied as he gently but firmly grasped her hand. He didn't even bat an eye when she kept her sleeve as a barrier between their hands.

After a moment, Tyrian released her hand. "Nice ta meet'cha, partner. What say we go get a relic and get the Dust out of here?"

Ianthe smiled, though the image was marred by the fact she knew that Tyrian could only see the lower half of her face. "I say, 'what are we waiting for?' Lead the way, partner."

At least he was easy on the eyes, in a bookish sort of way.

**~AFT~**

Amber tirelessly trekked through the woods, stopping only to dispatch the occasional Grimm that happened to get in her way. So far she had disposed of four young Beowulves, an immature Death Stalker, and a middle-aged Ursa Minor. Despite her impressive kill count, the Mikado Heiress only grew more frustrated as she trekked deeper into the forest.

"I can NOT believe that this is what passes for Grimm here! Where are all the exotics? I need _something_ to test myself against, so why do I keep running into these small fry?! I don't even need my Semblance for these!"

She was in full throttle bitch mode, she knew that. But she was also running high on adrenaline and rage, not only from the lack of strong Grimm, but also from the lack of respect the other students seemed to have for her. True, she had gotten her way with that blond yesterday, but only after he had humiliated her with a whistle. A Dust-damned WHISTLE had brought her down and stunned her long enough for him to escape. If she found him in the forest today, she wasn't sure if she could restrain her anger.

Amber cried out in annoyance as she vertically bisected another Beowulf with a single slash from her _Jade Dragon_. "I swear I'll level this forest if I don't find a worthy challenge in the next five seconds!"

"Five!"

As if in response to her outpouring of anger and frustration, a trio of small Nevermores swooped down at her, talons extended. Without another word, Amber drew her gun, _Spark_, aimed and fired a Lightning Dust round into each Grimm bird's head.

"Four! Three! Two!"

Just before she finished her countdown, a nervous voice cried out from behind her, "Whoa Whoa Whoa! I don't know about a worthy challenge, just watch out for innocent bystanders!"

Amber spun on her heel, her sword leading the way. Luckily for her target, she managed to stop her instinctive stab just before it would have cut him. This resulted in the somewhat awkward position of holding her sword mere inches from the belly of a fellow student, with her gun pointed directly at his face. He didn't seem too pleased at her right now.

"Careful where you swing that thing, lady!" The gold-coated teen groused as pushed her sword away from his midsection. "Geez, I spend Oum knows how long wandering through this godforsaken forest, looking for someone (hopefully an attractive female) that hasn't partnered up yet, and when I _finally _find one, she tries to eviscerate me. Figures!"

Amber stared at the boy in open annoyance. He was actually complaining about partnering with _her_? How ungrateful!

"Are you seriously complaining about the chance to partner up with _me_? Do you have any idea who I am?"

The boy looked back at her, "No, but do you have any idea who _I_ am?"

Amber nearly growled in response as she sheathed her jian and holstered her pistol. What was it with the other students and not knowing who she was? Was her family that unimportant that their memory had faded so soon after they were nearly wiped out?

"I am Amber Mikado, Scion of the…"

"Blah, blah, blah," the boy mocked, clearly enjoying the process of winding her up.

"Mikado,"

"Blah."

"Family!"

"Blah!"

"Would you stop that!?"

"Depends, are you done? 'Cause I can go all day, lady. And since you asked, I'm Morgan Kaine, Holder of a Hundred Blades, and your new partner!"

This time, Amber did growl.

**~AFT~**

She didn't much like the Black Beasts she kept running across and the feeling was more than mutual. That much, she knew for certain. She could also sense that Nature didn't enjoy her fighting against the unnatural abominations that masqueraded as her children, but Uintah felt strongly that becoming a Huntress was exactly what she was meant to do. She didn't rightly know what filled her with such determination, but she had long stopped questioning it. Even if she was the only one she knew of that could sense Nature and even communicate with it at some level, the Faunus could not deny the fact that she felt a certain responsibility to protect the entity from unnatural things.

Things that Nature couldn't defend itself against, such as the Grimm.

Speaking of which…

"Uintah understands that you're angry. That you aren't right, that you don't belong, and it hurts. And that makes you angry. But…" Uintah unslung _Abundant Harvest _from her back and hefted it across her shoulder in its melee mode, a sharp hoe with a wide, square blade. "Uintah can't allow you to take your anger out on everything else."

The Ursa Major that Uintah was having a one-sided conversation with roared and swung its massive paw at her head. It was a massive creature, nearly ten feet tall and covered with large plates and spikes of pale bone. Uintah narrowly avoided decapitation by back flipping out of the way. The Ursa followed up with another swing from its other paw, which the rabbit Faunus parried and redirected with a light swing of her hoe.

Uintah flipped her weapon around and hit the bear-like Grimm under its chin with the sharp blade cracking its bonelike armor, following up with an overhead spin that planted in the top of its skull. The rabbit Faunus launched a powerful high kick that knocked _Harvest's_ blade from the stunned Ursa's head. Uintah took advantage of the Grimm's momentary lapse in murderous intent and jumped backwards while shifting her weapon into its ranged mode.

With a firm twist, the hoe's shaft expanded into a semi-automatic carbine with a single-shot, underslung grenade launcher. The wide, square blade shifted into a thinner triangle-shaped bayonet on the end of the weapon's long barrel. Uintah peppered the Ursa's bone plated skull with Earth Dust Bullets, but even with the damage she had inflicted, the bullets didn't penetrate its thick armor enough to do much damage.

The Ursa shook off its stupor and charged at the rabbit Faunus, who threw some seeds in the bear's face while she backpedaled as quickly as she could and reached for her Semblance.

But for the first time, Nature did not heed her call and she was left with only her own Aura to provide the needed energy for the seeds, which had barely begun to sprout when the Ursa reached her. One giant paw knocked _Harvest_ out of her hands while the other connected with her shoulder and sent her sprawling.

The weapon clattered across the ground, far out of her reach.

The Grimm slammed a paw onto Uintah's chest, forcing the air out of her lungs and bruising her spine. The rabbit Faunus absently felt her ribs creak while she desperately tried to draw her trowel-like dagger from her belt, but the Grimm's large paw kept her pinned. The Ursa lowered its head and opened its massive jaw, showing off its mouth full of dripping, bloodstained teeth. Uintah closed her eyes in acceptance, hoping that the end would not hurt too much.

"Uintah is sorry, she couldn't…"

The rabbit Faunus felt the pressure from the Grimm's paw decrease as a strange sound echoed through the woods. Apparently it was as confused as she was by the unexpected sound.

"Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…"

What was that?

"Mine, mine, mine, mine, Mine, MINE!"

Suddenly there was a great explosion of sound and force and the Ursa Major was bodily _hurled_ off of her by a teenage boy wearing a tattered red and gold martial arts _gi_. The boys red hair was streaked with blond highlights, though the blond faded after a moment, leaving her to wonder if they had ever been there to begin with.

"Mine," the boy said, looking at the Ursa Major before he noticed her. Bright green eyes locked with cornflower blue for a moment before the boy offered her a hand up, which Uintah accepted. Almost as an afterthought, he darted over to the stirring form of the Ursa and gave it a swift punch in the forehead. His knuckle spikes shattered the already damaged bone armor along with the rest of its skull, before he spoke again. "Hey there, didn't see you under that thing, you alright? I'm Taiyo Akairo, but you can call me Tai! What's your name?"

Uintah was taken aback by Taiyo's earnest introduction. Didn't he know that humans are supposed to hate Faunus on sight? She retrieved _Abundant Harvest _from where it fell between some rocks before she replied.

"Uintah's name is Uintah Oihana, and her friend sometimes calls her Win. She's a bit bruised, but fine. If she may ask…" she trailed off, uncertain if she truly wanted to ask, but a prompting look from Taiyo encouraged her, "Why did you not express disgust or anger when you were paired with Uintah? Most humans would not have even given her the courtesy you showed her, much less put their own safety on the line when she was in trouble."

Taiyo ran a hand through his hair and scratched at his scalp a bit before he replied carefully. "'Cause, even if you're a Faunus, that don't mean you've got less worth than me." Taiyo's eyes grew downcast but he shook it off and resumed smiling brightly, "I know what it's like to feel worthless, and I do my best ta not make someone else feel that way. Even if you're a different species, you still have feelings, just like me, so why should I try to hurt them?"

Uintah felt a swell of warmth in her chest in response to Tai's heartfelt declaration. Maybe he can be the fifth human she can actually feel close to, after the Sparrows? An involuntary smile played across her features. Is this what it was like to be truly happy?

"Uintah thanks you for your kind words, Tai, and she wishes that more of your species felt the same way."

"You talk kinda funny, don'tcha? Ah, I'm no one to judge, I guess. I'm sure we'll be great friends!" The redhead brushed some dust from his gauntlets, mindful of their sharp ridges. "Let's go find those relics!"

Without waiting for a reply, Taiyo started running again. With a wave of her hand, the rabbit Faunus quickly recovered the seeds that she had thrown into the Ursa's face before she followed her partner. Uintah felt her cheeks heat up when Taiyo mentioned her speech. Talking about one's self in the third person wasn't that weird, was it?

"Friends… Uintah would like that."

**~AFT~**

Wendelin dove to the side as the Boarbatusk barreled past them.

"Scanning mode activated," The white-clad person intoned as they held two fingers up to the side of their visor. The boar-like Grimm charged again, and again, Wendelin dodged, only this time, the Boarbatusk couldn't stop in time and crashed into a tree, temporarily stunning it. While the creature was stunned, Wendelin finished scanning it and read the resulting data aloud.

"Subject; Old Boarbatusk. Biology; boar-like Grimm with large tusks (avoid), powerful legs, and bone armor comparable to that seen on older Grimm specimens. Boarbatusk have a reputation for having denser armor than other Grimm of comparable age. Recommended tactics; dodge its charge and strike from the sides, or attempt to knock it over and attack its unarmored underbelly."

Wendelin put their hand down and then clenched it into a fist. Fire Dust blazed to life forth from the Glyph embedded in the thick fabric. It was too dangerous to use their Semblance for something that required this level of careful control, due to the chaotic nature of their soul's energy, it would be far too easy to lose control and….

Well, the Emerald Forest might need a new name if that happened.

The massive Boarbatusk regained its feet and began charging again. It swept its long, hooked tusks at Wendelin who barely dodged. The tiny teen retaliated with a blast of fire from their right gauntlet, which the old Grimm weathered with barely a sound of annoyance. The two repeated this process a few more times before Wendelin figured out that neither were gaining any ground, they made a drastic choice.

When the creature charged again, Wendelin coiled their legs and waited until the Grimm had nearly reached them before they _leapt _up and over the dark creature's head with its thick, bone mask and slashing tusks. Or at least, that was the plan.

The Boarbatusk moved faster than Wendelin anticipated, and instead of jumping over its head and cooking its brain with their Fire, they found themselves pinned to another tree, with a pair of sharp tusks uncomfortably close to killing them. It was a losing battle to keep from being crushed, their Aura barely held the great beast at bay as Wendelin tried to channel a small amount of their Semblance, but terror blunted their Aura and locked their power away in their core.

"Damn… is this the end? I had so many ideas I wanted to work on!" Wendelin shouted as their Aura continued to drain into the old Grimm's tusks.

Suddenly, the drain stopped when the Boarbatusk abruptly stopped pushing them against the tree as an inarticulate _roar_ of fury echoed through the small clearing. Wendelin wasn't sure who was more surprised, them, or the Grimm, when the giant form of Owen Alpine burst out of the trees and barreled into the Boarbatusk. Forgoing his weapon, which hung on his back by way of a leather strap, the ox Faunus opted instead grabbed the Grimm by its tusks. With a single titanic heave, Owen _threw_ the large creature into a tree. The stomach-turning _crack_ that ensued on impact was probably the creature's spine breaking

The Boarbatusk writhed in agony as its front legs made an admirable effort of dragging the rest of its immobile body. It was almost comical, Wendelin thought, to watch the fearsome creature's legs scrabbling for purchase on the soft ground and accomplishing nothing but making a mess of the clearing. Owen stomped his way over to the struggling Grimm and quickly snapped its neck with a powerful stomp to its neck. The Grimm's bones gave way with little resistance under the massive Faunus' steel-shod boot. The tiny teen flinched when a hand roughly the size of a small mailbox came down on their shoulder with surprising gentleness. Wendelin looked up into Owen's concerned brown eyes.

"Are yeh alright, Wendelin? Sorry Ah didn't get here sooner; you ain't hurt too bad are yeh? Ohh, Ah knew Ah shoulda taken that battlefield medic course back at Castle!"

"Calm down, Owen, I'm fine, just a few bruises." Wendelin reassured the frantic ox Faunus with a wave of their hand. "Thanks for your help, partner. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I'd probably be dead."

"Eh, t'weren't nothin'. You'd a done the same fer me, Ah reckon." Owne replied, rubbing his hair with one massive hand. "Since we're partners now, an' all that."

Wendelin cocked their head to one side. "Not that I mind, but why didn't you use your weapon?"

Owen looked somewhat embarrassed before he replied, "There's somethin' wrong with 'er, Ah figure Ah musta busted er when Ah bumped inta that giant bird earlier."

"Can I take a look at it? I'm pretty good at fixing things." In response to Owen's unsure look, Wendelin continued, "Making things too. I made this suit I'm wearing. It helps me control my Semblance."

"Oh all righ'," Owen acquiesced reluctantly. "Here ya go." The giant freed his ax from its leather strap across his chest and placed it on a nearby rock.

"Right then, let's see what we've got." Wendelin said as they pulled out a small toolkit from a thigh pocket and started to examine the weapon, reciting their findings in a near-robotic tone. "Subject: combination double-headed ax and anti-vehicular… cannon. Unorthodox weapon design, taking into account wielder's strength and obvious preference for causing as much splitting damage as possible with a single strike."

The visor flashed red once, "Unique alloys detected, purpose; increased durability at reduced weight." The elfin teen ran their hands down the barrel and around the rifle butt, continuing their monologue the whole time, "Weapon utilizes miniaturized Dust reactor powered by Earth Natured Dust for ammunition, reducing need to reload. Axe blades are capable of folding into bipod, reducing carry profile. Barrel is capable of telescoping, allowing for ease of transportation."

One of Wendelin's hands detected a slight misalignment between two sections of the barrel, something that would be easily missed by a cursory inspection. The short teen took out a small hammer and gently tapped the piece back into place, smiling behind their mask when they heard a soft click.

Wendelin glanced up at Owen. "I'm impressed, did you design this yourself? I've never even heard of a personal weapon with this kind of stopping power. By the way, the problem was that one of the telescoping barrel sections was knocked slightly out of alignment once it was fully extended, which jammed the rest of it open. Probably happened just before the pieces settled together, otherwise this would happen a lot more. What do you call it, anyway?"

Owen was dumbstruck. This tiny little student of ambiguous gender had completely analyzed his weapon, preferred fighting style, and fixed the problem in the space of minutes. It took the poor Faunus almost a minute to respond to his partner's question.

"Er… um… no Ah didn't design her mehself, Ah mean, Ah had the idea, but mah big brother, Bunyan's the one who built it. All t'other weapons Ah tried were too… flimsy. Kept breakin' em by accident. So we made this one. Big bro named her_ Fatale Berserk_, due to mah Semblance, but I always called her _Babe_. Ah've also got mah da's shotgun, but Ah kinda... forgot it at home."

Owen pushed a button on _Babe's_ rifle stock, and the whole weapon shrunk down to a more manageable size. The blades retracted and folded into a bipod, the barrel shortened, and the rifle parts expanded from their compressed state, leaving the ox Faunus holding what amounted to a small cannon with a bipod.

"Thanks for the help, little pardner. But we don't got time to stand around gum-flappin' when there's Grimm what need slayin' an' relics to find. So hop up, we got ground to cover."

Without further preamble, Owen grabbed Wendelin by the back of their parka and set them carefully on his shoulders.

"Ah'm faster than yeh, and ya don't weigh a thing. So let's make up for some lost time!"

Wendelin barely managed a shout of protest before Owen started to run. At that point, it was all they could do to hold on without falling. Now they knew what ox riding was like, and it was not fun.

**~AFT~**

In the swarm's midst, _Sileigeach Faireoir _became a whirling instrument of death. In its master's hands, its knobbed end lashed with speed comparable to a snake strike, each successful hit easily smashed the fragile bat Grimm into clouds of dust. River _danced_; there was no other fitting way to put it, around her opponents, who, though fragile, made up for individual weakness with numbers and tenacity.

Even with her formidable defense, River knew she could not maintain this level of combat speed for long. She was more of a long ranged fighter by choice, and her _Last Resort_ hadn't recharged enough for a second blast of Wind. Still, the redhead was nothing if not determined, and managed to end over two dozen of the tiny Grimm before a voice shouted out from the woods.

"Get down and cover your ears!"

Unthinking, River threw herself onto the thick grass and quickly slipped her headphones over her ears. She was barely in time as she faintly heard a high-pitched blast of sonic energy that sounded suspiciously like flute notes streak over her prone form. The few slivers of sound that slipped through the headphones blasted into her sensitive ears. She withheld a gasp of pain through sheer willpower, weathering the tiny sonic storm that raged above her.

Thanks to her Divination, River could see each Grimm being shredded to pieces in excruciating detail. If she hadn't already seen worse, the blind girl was sure that particular image would have haunted her nightmares for weeks to come.

**~AFT~**

Conway dashed through the woods with reckless abandon, dodging trees and saplings like it was second nature thanks to his animal instinct. Only ironclad discipline and the desire to ensure his secret remained so prevented him from giving in to the impulse to get down on all fours and run like an animal, like he used to before he started combat school. Sometimes Conway thought that he was far more in tune with his animal instincts than most other Faunus, but maybe it was because he denied them too much, and they were now making their presence felt more strongly.

The blond strained his Semblance to its limit in an effort to find his way to the person that originally caught his attention. He wasn't having much luck, as apparently the very trees here seemed to emit a mild anti-Aura field that dampened any and all Aura use, including Semblances. Perhaps if he tried using more Aura for his Semblance, he'd have better luck?

No matter. The sound of pained screeches filled his ears and the fox Faunus paused just at the edge of a clearing, in shock at the sight of a fellow unpartnered student moving and fighting with such grace.

Oh thank Dust, it wasn't that red-hooded menace!

What was more impressive was that this was the same blind girl he had met yesterday on the airship! She was fighting a large swarm of tiny, bat-like Grimm with razor-edged wings, and to her credit, those deadly appendages hadn't so much as scored a line on her clothing yet.

Conway was spellbound for a moment before he realized that despite her skillful defense, River clearly lacked the stamina to contend with such a large number of enemies for long. He thumbed the hidden switch on _Spritely Whisper's _handle to retract the blade and brought his weapon up to his lips and began to play.

The sound that issued from the flute was… horrendous. There was no harmony to the notes, no rhythm to the cacophony. In a sense, the loathsome noise that Conway forced from his beloved instrument could be called little besides sonic chaos. And chaos, though nigh impossible to direct, much less control, is terribly powerful.

Once the chaos was almost too great to be contained, Conway dropped his flute to his side and held his left hand, curled into a claw, in front of him. His arm shook with the strain of holding such chaotic sound in place without losing any of its power. He barely had time to shout a warning before his containment failed completely.

"Get down and cover your ears!"

Conway could only hope that River had listened to him before the sonic energy, which had shaped itself into a rough sphere, slipped from his grasp. At that point it was all he could do to direct it and hope for the best. The ball of sound launched into the clearing moments after his hasty warning and _exploded_, reducing all the tiny Grimm to black smoke. Conway had the presence of mind to deflect the majority of the sonic energy from the prone River, preventing her from suffering a similar fate.

The Fox Faunus doubled over, panting heavily. He barely managed to replace _Spritely Whisper_ in its holster before his arm and hand decided that they were better off not listening to their owner anymore. "Dust that was tougher than it should've been… something in the trees, I swear…"

When he had regained his breath, Conway stumbled over to the still-prone River and crouched beside her. He gave her shoulder a careful nudge with his hand while he greeted her.

"Hey again, River. You still alive? Sorry about the noise, but I wanted to make sure I got…"

Whatever else Conway was about to say was abruptly cut off by River hitting him in the stomach with the butt of her weapon hard enough to knock the air out of him. While the hapless Faunus lay doubled over on the ground, gasping for air, the blind girl stood with the dignity and poise required of an upper crust socialite while she pulled off her headphones. That illusion was ruined by the next words she spoke.

"Next time, give me a few _less _seconds of warning; you might actually kill me then! Even with the headphones, those sonic waves _hurt_, ya'know!"

Ooh, she was _pissed_.

"Sorry… I've been… having trouble… with my… Semblance… ever since… I landed…" Conway wheezed between gasps. Honestly, it wasn't _completely_ his fault that he had trouble gauging the necessary amount of Aura required for his Semblance in this blasted forest! River gave a long-suffering sigh and helped Conway to his feet before she grinned and chuckled.

"Performance issues, huh partner? Not the sort of thing most men would admit."

Wait… Did she just go there? Conway's face turned bright red as he sputtered indignantly.

River laughed and let go of his arm and casually leaned on her weapon.

Conway actually growled a little at her blatant behavior "Damnit River!"

"Careful Conway, your _fox_ is showing."

Conway was dumbfounded at her casual mention of his secret. How could she? She said his secret was safe with her!

The redhead's amusement at her own dirty joke lasted a moment more before she quelled her laughter. "In all seriousness though, you aren't the only one having trouble. I'm having a hard time too. Everything is all blurry and fuzzy, I mean, I can hardly any detail from here. Normally, I could take one glance and at least be able to tell you what you had for breakfast." She paused a moment before she added, "And don't worry. I meant what I said before, on the airship. Your secret is safe with me."

Mollified, Conway dusted himself off. Slender though she was, that girl packed a _mean_ punch.

"Well, we should probably get going," Conway remarked, "I don't know about you, but I don't really want to spend the night in this forest."

River pushed off of her staff. "Yeah, I didn't exactly pack for camping. Even with my Semblance going wonky I can tell you didn't either. So, relics?"

"Relics." Conway confirmed as he drew his flute from its holster. "I saw the path Professor Ozpin mentioned back that way," He jerked a thumb over his right shoulder, "If we follow it, we should reach the temple relatively quickly."

"Sounds good to me. Lead the way, partner!"

Conway only sighed as they made their way back to the path. What had he gotten himself into this time?

Wait, since she was blind, did that mean they didn't really make eye contact? He opened his mouth to ask.

It was going be a long period of screeching, followed by silent anger, and lingering pain. For the Faunus, that is.

**~AFT~**

Meanwhile, atop the cliffs that overlooked the Emerald Forest, Professor Glynda Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin stood with Scrolls in hand, observing their prospective students as they battled and trekked through the deadly terrain. Ozpin occasionally let out a contemplative hum as the students paired up two by two, excluding those that fell victim to the Grimm. Those earned a pained grimace from the gray-haired man.

Luckily, only two such expressions had passed the Headmaster's firm features.

The blond watched as each student employed their hard-earned skills, first in landing, then in fighting their way through the Forest. Some of the students like that albino girl and the blind redhead had actually impressed her with their landing strategies, while others, especially Alban Radley, had disappointed or sickened her.

As a matter of fact, when she saw what the orange-eyed boy had done, while it was impressive in its own right, she had nearly vomited in sheer disgust. She couldn't imagine allowing herself to be gruesomely dismembered only to be required to put herself back together through the strength of her Aura and Semblance.

Glynda glanced up from her Scroll to look at her boss. Ozpin's attention seemed to be on four students in particular, that much she could surmise from looking over his shoulder at the large Scroll in his hands. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, and her Faunus partner, Blake Belladonna. Now if only she could figure out _why_ those four were so important, especially with all the other prominent individuals coming in with this class….

The Scroll in her hands emitted a shrill _ping_, drawing her attention back to its screen. A live feed played across the brightly lit device of a redheaded student, whose name she believed was Taiyo, actually caved in an Ursa Major's skull armor with one punch. The professor's eyes widened slightly. That kind of strength was nearly unheard of, unless one had either a truly monstrous physique like that ox Faunus or a…

"Strength-amplifying Semblance?"

"Hmm?"

Of course the headmaster who was responsible for the safety of the students was not paying attention. She honestly had come to expect this kind of behavior from him over the years. This was just like the Hayes Incident all over again...

"Taiyo Akairo just punched his way through an Ursa Major's skull armor with one hit. Granted, it had been weakened by Uintah Oihana, but still, such a feat requires impressive strength. He and that other student, Owen Alpine, might actually be as strong as my old teammate, or in Mr. Akairo's case, even more so if his Semblance does what I suspect and he can take his so-called 'Plus Scale' beyond its current limits. Though," She paused and tapped her chin for a moment, "His Enhancement is based on multiplying his strength and durability, not like my teammate's Beast Semblance."

"Ah yes, your teammates all had quite formidable Semblances, especially the one with the Blink Semblance. What was his name again? Tyler?" The Headmaster replied, still looking at his Scroll.

Of course he remembered, but he wanted to hear her say it.

"Terran. His name was Terran Gray." Glynda said bitterly.

Ozpin glanced over at her. "Wasn't he the one that…"

"Yes. He was" The blond replied shortly, indicating in no uncertain terms that this conversation was over.

The Headmaster turned back to his Scroll. "Well, from the looks of things, his son has managed to do well for himself. He just partnered with…"

"I don't care who he partnered with!" The witch shot back acidly, her beautiful face twisted into a snarl before she continued. "As far as I'm concerned, it would have been better for everyone if that little…"

"Glynda." Ozpin interrupted sharply, "He doesn't deserve this from you. As you know, I've made more mistakes than almost anyone else in my lifetime. Please, don't let him become one of yours."

Glynda turned away from her boss and whispered, more to herself than to him.

"He already is."

**~AFT~**

_Author's Note _

_ Well, I really was hoping to have all of Initiation in one chapter, but my Muse was all 'Oh no you don't. You've got to show more of this.' And I had little choice but to comply. On the plus side, next chapter might or might not be out faster, since I have almost a thousand words typed for it already. But classes start soon for me, so my free time is about to get seriously nerfed. _

_ On an unrelated note, does anyone have any idea how difficult it is to write from the perspective of a character whose gender is (cough intentionally cough) ambiguous to the audience? _

_ On to the Fun Facts! _

_Fun Fact #23: Wendelin is basically the bastard love-child of Tony Stark and Elsa, with a bit of Iceman from X-Men thrown in with regards to their powers and skills. _

_ Fun Fact #24: The Wire Coil is one of several parts designed for use with the Personal Modular Recombinant Weapon System. The Standard PMRWS (The one Conway has) can hold two modules in addition to the standard munition barrel and any parts to upgrade that, depending on the scope of modifications needed to the basic frame. _

_Fun Fact #25: Blaise's armor is inspired in equal parts by by the Iron man briefcase from Iron Man 2, Gundam Exia, and the Atlesian Knight 130. Armament wise, it takes after the original Exia, minus the extra swords and GN Drive. Visually, aside from the weapons, Aegis Black looks like Atlesian Knight 130 from the Black Trailer. In actuality, it is far less durable than either of its inspirations, probably about as durable as an AK-200. Also, it cannot fly. _

_Fun Fact #26: Taiyo's Semblance Plus Scale is actually rather similar to the Kaioken from Dragon Ball Z. The funny thing is; that was a detail that just sort of happened. It wasn't actually planned out. It's not nearly as powerful as the Kaioken, but it does have its uses. Using the Kaioken as a comparison, at this time he can only go to about a Maximum of x3 max strength and durability with his standard Semblance, which he can keep active almost indefinitely. At this point with Plus Scale which doesn't last quite as long, he can very briefly achieve as much as x20. If he were to try and achieve that level, it would last for about one second. For now.  
_

_Fun Fact #27: Despite Uintah having a deeper connection to nature than most Faunus, her Semblance still takes time to use, even with Nature's constant assistance, which is only possible when she is in a natural setting. In an urban environment with less nature, Uintah is much less powerful, her Semblance takes more focus, and her sensory abilities are greatly diminished. _

_Fun Fact #28: Yeah, I know I said Owen's weapon would be named after a weapon from a manga, but this one fits better. Originally it was named Fatal Attraction, after Victor's from the manga Buso Renkin. _

_Thanks as always to my incomparable Beta, Alsc Petrelli Winchester Stark, who persevered through sickness to help me out with this story. _

_Edited 11/24/2016. Name changes, Removal of Burst Mode, addition of Taiyo's Plus Scale. _


	7. Initiation Part 2

RWBY: A Fox's Tale

I'd apologize for the lateness, but I'm a college student, so infrequent updates are going to be the norm for a while, and possibly forever.

On a more serious note, I borrowed part of this introduction from the brilliant Kuribayashi, Author of The White Rose of Vermilion. Mostly because they really hit the nail on the head with it, and I couldn't think of a better way to say it.

**Guys seriously, it would really help me out if you left a review. Your feedback is both greatly appreciated and crucial; anything and everything can help! **

Don't know what to say other than_ 'Good chapter,' 'Update soon,' or 'I liked it?'_ Just pick a line that you liked and tell me why you liked it. Was it written well? Did it make you feel something? Did it make you laugh, smile, sigh, want to cry? Detailed and constructive reviews really make my day, so please help a guy out?

Without further ado, please enjoy the next chapter of _RWBY: A Fox's Tale_.

Chapter 7: Initiation Part 2

These woods were boring if you weren't being attacked by Grimm, Conway thought as he and River followed a rough game trail that wound through the Emerald Forest. He had never been more grateful that Aura had healing properties. His ears, all four of them, were _still_ ringing from River's near-incoherent screech of rage he had unknowingly triggered by asking about eye contact.

The pair walked in silence for a short time, neither willing to disrupt the awkward silence. Both teens carried their weapons with the ease of long familiarity. River carried _Sileigeach Faireoir _against her shoulder in its compressed rifle form. Conway had been surprised to learn that River's weapon had two forms in addition to its base form of a blackthorn staff, a high-powered sniper rifle, and a smaller semi-automatic version with less power. Conway held _Spritely Whisper_ loosely with its blade unextended in his left hand, while his right rested comfortably on Crescendo Blitz.

"So…" River began uncertainly, clearly searching for a safe topic of conversation. She more than likely felt guilty about the damage she had inflicted on his sensitive ears, so she felt obligated to supply the conversation. "Aside from the obvious reasons, why put yourself through so much pain to hide your heritage?"

"Why don't you use your Semblance to find out?" Conway shot back defensively.

"You know I don't like using it like that, Conway." She huffed. "Besides, it doesn't work quite that way. Because I can see your Aura, I can pick up some deeper bits of information from the way your Aura looks. Because Aura is a manifestation of your soul, it shows everything about you. It just takes my Divination time to sort through it all, and I can't exactly choose what I see. So yes, given enough time and motivation, I could just Divine the answer, but I won't do that to you."

Conway was taken aback by the vehemence of River's rebuttal. He remembered too late that she tried to avoid using her Semblance as much as possible. The fox Faunus drew in a deep breath before he replied, in a very small voice, "I hide what I am because I don't want to be hurt for it anymore."

"Conway…" River began softly, "I know you've heard it before, probably dozens of times, but…"She paused. Conway thought she looked embarrassed to say what he knew she was going to. "Not all humans will hurt you. Maybe… you could try giving us a chance?"

Conway suddenly stopped walking causing River to glance over her shoulder at him. "Tell me something, River…"His voice was tight with barely controlled fury, "Do you have any idea what it's like? Having to deal with prejudice from what feels like an entire species, just because you look different than them? Did you ever fear for your safety or your very life, simply walking out of your front door?"

Conway gave River no chance to respond before he scoffed bitterly. "Of course you don't. How would someone like you," He spat the word like a snake spits venom. "possibly understand? You haven't suffered like the Faunus have. You haven't had to spend your life in fear of your own classmates, your own roommates, or any human walking the street!"

Conway ripped off his hat, revealing his fox ears. "Because I was born with these," He gestured to his ears, and then at his midsection, where his tail was concealed, "and this, I get to be ostracized from most of society for life? How is that fair? How is that any sort of argument for me, or any other Faunus for that matter, to give humans a chance? When have humans _ever_ given Faunus a chance, huh?"

Conway took another deep breath to continue his rant, but River interrupted him. "I understand more than you think, Conway." She replied softly as her fingers ghosted over the embroidered cloth of her blindfold. "Well, I might not understand the pain of being a Faunus; I do know what being alone feels like." River sighed as she traced the delicate needlework of leaves and vines. "A few weeks after the attack that claimed my sight, my Divination manifested itself. At first, I was overjoyed, ya'know? I could _see_ again, after a fashion. But then…"

"Within a few weeks, I noticed something odd. I started knowing things that I should have no knowledge of, like the businessman who ate lunch at the playground having an affair with his secretary, the man who abused his children, or where a drug dealer hid his stash. I could see all of it, and you want to know something, Conway?"

River paused to let her words sink in.

"No one believed me. Not even my parents. When I tried to tell anyone, I was just ignored. Even when I went to the police about a murder that I Divined being planned, they didn't believe me either. Surprise of surprises, when that guy turned up dead was when people started to believe me."

"Of course, I thought that it would get better once people found out I was telling the truth." The redhead laughed bitterly. "Of course they didn't. Instead, I was even more isolated from my peers than when I was first blinded. Who wants to spend time with the 'freaky blind girl' who can see your secrets?"

River turned back to Conway, who was too shocked to even put his hat back on. "You weren't the only one hoping for a fresh start at Beacon, Conway."

"I… I didn't…" Conway stammered.

"No, you didn't consider that other people have suffered too." River said gently as she tentatively put her hand on Conway's shoulder. "That doesn't mean your suffering doesn't matter, but please just remember that you don't have to be alone anymore. Just remember that there are people who understand."

Conway didn't shrug her hand off, despite not expecting the touch. Having someone who understood felt… nice.

It was a scary thought. Was he actually letting someone get close to him again? That hadn't happened since Bryony. To be honest, the thought scared him. Did he even know how to be close to someone else anymore?

The partners stayed where they were for several moments, both hurt souls taking comfort in finding a kindred spirit, before River let her hand fall. With a suspicious-sounding sniff, Conway carefully flattened his ears and put his hat back on.

"…Thanks."

River smiled kindly. "Anytime, partner. I just wish…"

Whatever River was going to say was interrupted by a trio of Beowulves bursting out of the underbrush off to their right. Unlike the majority of Grimm in this forest, these three bore the telltale bony protrusions and armor that showed years of experience in fighting humans.

Both students moved the instant they heard the disturbance. Even with their reaction speed, the pair barely dodged the Beowulves' furious charge. River leapt aside and brought _Sileigeach Faireoir _to her shoulder while Conway dove to their left, extending his sword's blade as he rolled to his feet with the blade in a ready position.

"I'll take this one, you keep those two busy!" River called as she peppered the largest of the trio with short bursts of Earth Dust. Her weapon differed from most in that it actually utilized tiny flecks of the stable Dust as ammunition instead of the more commercially available Dust rounds. The downside was difficulty in reloading, but a single crystal provided her with enough ammunition for nearly a month if she was careful. Her Semblance aided her in locating the weakest spots of the Grimm's dense armor, looking for a quick kill. It was not to be. The large Beowulf cleared the distance separating them with a mighty bound. River barely had time to switch her weapon into melee mode before the Grimm was upon her. The blind girl flipped her staff and grabbed it by the lower end. With a yell of "Fore!" she swung the weapon up into her assailant's jaw, clamping its wickedly sharp teeth down on its own tongue.

The blind girl calmly sidestepped the stunned Grimm as it hit the forest floor. Its bulk sent a cloud of leaves and other forest detritus flying through the air, which she dodged. Calmly shifting _Sileigeach Faireoir_ into its sniper mode, River took careful aim and put a pair of Dust slivers into its bone-plated face.

Meanwhile, Conway had his hands full with the two smaller Grimm. His animal instincts screamed at him that these were apex predators, beyond his capabilities to fight. Conway growled in defiance and ruthlessly suppressed his urge to run and hide. He was a predator, not prey dammit! He ducked under a savage bite and parried the other Grimm's claws and spun around to give it a kick in the back. He was forced to abandon his plan when the other recovered its position and tried to strike him with its claws. The fox only avoided being laid open by hopping back half a step and sucking in his gut.

Conway felt the air practically vibrate with power as it rippled around his clenched fist in a rough sphere of combined Aura and sonic energy gathered from River's gunfire and the Beowulves' snarling. When he couldn't hold the sphere in place any more, he punched towards the larger of the two Grimm, releasing the small orb in a devastating sonic blast that knocked the creature completely off its feet and gained him some much-needed breathing room to deal with the smaller one. He wasted no time in pouncing on the second Beowulf, cutting at its upper body and probing its defense with his sword. As expected, the monster blocked his sword with its bone-plated forearms which screeched in protest as _Sprightly Whisper's_ sharp blade scored a shallow groove onto their worn surface between two bone spikes.

Undeterred, the Faunus dodged a retaliatory claw strike by mere inches, and drew his handgun. The Grimm lunged forward with its right arm outstretched. Conway deflected the Beowulf's lunge with the flat of his blade and moved to its flank. He drew his handgun in a flash of motion, aimed, and fired three times at the Grimm's unarmored neck as it barreled past. The first two bullets missed and hit the armored head, but the third tore through its vulnerable throat tissues. The Grimm stumbled a few yards, clutching at its destroyed neck before it collapsed and dispersed into smoke. Conway didn't have time to celebrate his victory though, since the other Beowulf had recovered its footing.

Foul spittle dripped from the larger Beowulf's slavering fangs as it roared its fury at the puny Faunus who dared kill its fellow Grimm. Conway aimed his gun at the monster's head as the large beast bounded at its prey, namely him, with wide open jaws. Conway pulled the trigger again and again; firing bullet after bullet, but the experienced Grimm blocked or took the bullets on non-vital areas.

_Blitz_ clicked when its magazine ran dry. Conway quickly holstered the weapon, but the Beowulf took advantage of his momentary distraction and swiped at him with its claws. He wasn't fast enough to dodge this time. He gasped in pain as pain blazed through his arm when the gleaming white claws raked down his upper right shoulder down to his elbow, tearing through his sleeve and inflicting four long, but shallow scratches that his Aura quickly healed. Conway growled and grit his teeth in anger and pain. This was his favorite/only jacket for Oum's sake! Also his favorite/only right arm, but that was beside the point.

Conway thumbed a button near the middle of his flute, causing the tiny Dust generator within to whir into life around the Fire Dust crystal. The Dust energy flowed down into the blade, turning it into a blazing firebrand that quickly found a new home stabbed into the Grimm's midsection. Blade met flesh with a satisfying sizzling noise accompanied by the large Grimm's unearthly howls of pain and rage. He released his grip on his flute while he drew his balisong and flipped it open with a well-practiced motion before he stabbed it through the Beowulf's lower jaw. Conway yanked his smaller blade out, flipped it once to clean the blood and then ripped the still-burning sword from its fleshy sheath, causing the dark creature to fall to its knees, clutching its belly. Conway grinned savagely at the sight of the Beowulf writhing in agony at his feet.

"That was for my jacket, you mangy whelp!" the Faunus shouted, kicking the mortally injured creature in the chin. The Beowulf flopped weakly onto its back and Conway quickly finished it off with a downward stab through its snout. His flaming blade pierced the bone armor from within and buried itself in the dirt, pinning the dissolving monster in place. Conway withdrew the sword from the Beowulf's head with a sigh of relief and deactivated the Dust generator. No sense in wasting such an expensive resource after all, he wasn't sure when he'd be able to afford another one. He kept a close eye on the fallen Grimm, wary of any tricks, until it disappeared completely.

"I'd like to think that was necessary." River remarked calmly. The blind girl was leaning on her weapon, still in its staff form, several yards away.

"I was always taught that it was best to be sure that a Grimm is dead, no matter the method." Conway returned while he retracted his blade and put the flute away.

"Did Ákos Altair teach you that?"

A faraway expression crossed Conway's face while he drew his gun and replaced the ammo magazine, like he was reminiscing about days long past. That feeling was apparently enough to make him ignore the fact that she had just used her Semblance on him. "Yeah, he did."

"You really look up to him, don't you?"

Conway holstered his gun and glanced back at River. "Of course I do. I mean, he's my mentor and the closest thing to a father I'm ever likely to have, so why wouldn't I?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let me put it to you this way," Conway started. "Human teenagers don't get adopted often, especially not after the age of thirteen or so. The odds are even worse for a teenaged Faunus, especially in an area without many Faunus families, like where I live."

"But that's…" River began.

"Not fair?" Conway interrupted, "Probably not, but that's just the way it is. I made my peace with it after the council passed that law eight years ago that prevented Huntsmen and Huntresses on active duty from adopting children." He turned away and continued, "No point talking about it now. Not like it'll change anything. Come on, the temple is this way."

River was uncharacteristically silent during the rest of their short trip to the temple. If Conway didn't know better, he'd say she felt guilty. But what about? It didn't really matter, Conway supposed, as long as it didn't interfere with their mission. It was better to avoid making deep connections anyway. He had learned through long and bitter experience that it hurt less when you were alone. Even if she was telling the truth about them being similar, no one could stab you in the back if you weren't standing in front of them.

The pair of students cleared the tree line and quickly closed the distance between them and the half-destroyed ruins.

**~AFT~**

Amber hacked through another immature Beowulf as her partner strolled nonchalantly along behind her. The brown-haired girl practically growled in frustration when Morgan started whistling a particularly annoying tune.

"Are you going to, I don't know… contribute to this partnership in any meaningful way besides annoying me, at any point?"

Morgan shoved his hands into his pockets. "Eh… Probably not. You've got this under control. I'd probably get in your way, if I were being honest."

Amber absently blocked a second Beowulf's claws with a projection of her Semblance before she dispatched it with a lightning-quick flurry of stabs to its midsection. A large vein pulsed in her forehead in time with her furiously pounding heart. "Then why are you even here?"

"My drop-dead gorgeous looks and stellar personality?" Morgan replied, with his tone implying the answer should have been obvious. Amber's darkening visage should have warned him to quit while he still had all of his limbs. Morgan, apparently oblivious to the signs of his partner's impending apocalyptic rage, kept talking.

"I mean, obviously, I'm the good-looking one of the two of us, so…"

Whatever else the redhead was going to say was abruptly cut off by a solid hexagon of yellow Aura slamming into his face.

"Owww…"Morgan moaned piteously from the ground as he clutched at his bleeding nose. "What was that for?"

Amber remained silent, but fixed him with her most withering glare.

A mercifully short time later the pair came upon a large open clearing where the crumbling ruins of an old stone building still stood. Their path had been curiously free of any more Grimm, and conversation had been (to Amber's not-so-secret enjoyment) nonexistent.

"Think that's the temple Ozpin told us about?" Morgan asked cautiously, wary of offending his partner again.

"Well, let's see." Amber said, while she sheathed _Jade Dragon_. "It's the only building we've come across, in a large clearing, and I can clearly see at least a few pedestals from here. Obviously, this is the _decoy_ temple, with _fake_ relics designed to trick unintelligent students."

"You really think so?"

Amber spared about a second to palm her face before she snapped, "Of _course_ it's the temple you blithering idiot! Now if you'd care to _not_ waste any more time, then we should go grab a relic and get out of this forest."

"Geez, fine. You don't need to insult me. I was just kidding earlier."

Amber pointedly ignored him while they made their way across the clearing. When the unwilling pair finally arrived at the temple ruins, Morgan broke the silence.

"These are the relics? I wonder why they used chess pieces. Seems arbitrary if you ask me."

"Then it's good that no one is asking you, you doddering Neanderthal. Obviously," Amber spat, her voice layered with contempt, "They used chess pieces to determine how the chooser views themselves. A pawn would be useful, but ultimately either expendable, or hiding potential, while a knight is a stalwart defender, though unconventional in its ways…" The Mikado Heiress glanced over at her partner, who was currently eyeing the gold chess pieces with a hungry look. "…and… I'm not going to waste our time explaining this further, since you haven't been listening since you saw something shiny."

Morgan either ignored her, or wasn't listening, thereby proving her point.

Amber pressed her fingers to her brow and temple. Honestly this guy was like a brick wall. An obnoxious, arrogant, extremely dense brick wall. Without waiting for Morgan's input, she grabbed him by the collar and then snatched a black queen piece with a flare of her Semblance. Once she had both in hand, she started to drag the recalcitrant Morgan towards the cliffs.

"Come on, _partner_, I got our relic. It's time to get out of here. I saw a way up the cliffs to the east, should only take us an hour to get there."

Morgan actually whined. "But I want a shiny…"

"Too bad, we're leaving."

**~AFT~**

If they never felt the jostling sensation of being carried around by an ox Faunus, then Wendelin felt they could die happy. That isn't to say that getting a free ride from your giant ox Faunus partner wasn't convenient _per se_, but Owen wasn't exactly the most, shall we say, _delicate_ mode of transportation on the face of Remnant. Wendelin was pretty sure that their retinas had detached from all the shaking and bouncing.

"We should be getting there soon!" the tiny student called from their precarious perch on their large partner's back . "I saw a ruined temple when I entered the forest!"

"Good! Question tho' lil' buddy."

"What's that?"

"Now, Ah'm no expert, but last Ah checked, trees ain't supposed to be on fire. So why are those?"

Wendelin glanced up from holding their death grip on Owen's shoulders. They could barely feel their fingers after clenching them in the fabric of his shirt for so long. Surely enough, there was a decent sized plume of smoke off to their right. "That's… not good. We should go check it out. Maybe we can do something about it."

Wendelin nearly fell from his partner's back when Owen shrugged. "We migh' as well. 'S near enough where we're goin' anyway."

There was silence for a few moments before Wendelin suddenly asked their next question.

"I've been meaning to ask you something ever since I fixed your weapon."

"What is it?" Owen replied as he ducked under a lower branch.

"What exactly is your Semblance?" Wendelin felt Owen's broad shoulders stiffen for an instant. Dust. Looked like his Semblance was a sensitive topic.

"I mean, you already know my Semblance is Winter and that I can use it to make Ice. I figure if we get into another fight, then it would be best if we know the full measure of each other's abilities, right?"

"R-right," Owen stammered uncertainly. "W-well… Mah Semblance is…"

Owen visibly struggled for a moment before he looked away and blurted out quickly, "MahSemblance'sRampage."

Wendelin cocked their head to the side, "Sorry, what? I didn't catch that."

"Ah said… Mah Semblance is Rampage."

Dear Oum, even the taller boy's neck was red from the force of his blush! Wendelin couldn't determine if it was due to embarrassment…

Or shame.

Ah, Dust. Rampage. From the name alone, they could surmise that Owen's Semblance was either Unstable or nigh uncontrollable. Just like their own. Wendelin hesitantly touched Owen's shoulder.

"Unstable?" They whispered, unsure if they truly wanted to know the answer.

Owen's silence was more than enough.

Wendelin sighed. "Mine too. It's why I wear this suit all the time. It helps me contain it."

Owen stayed silent, so Wendelin continued. "I've tried to control it for nearly my whole life, ever since I first drew out my Aura and it had an inherent Nature of Ice. I just had too much Aura and it kept bursting out at… shall we say, inopportune times. It got bad enough that I had to make this suit to hold it in, just so I wouldn't accidentally hurt someone."

"Well, at least yeh've got that." Owen muttered lowly, "Ah got nothin' but mehself, and nobody's strong enough to stop me once Ah get goin'. Rampage turns me inta somethin' Ah don't _ever_ wanna be. An' that's a bloodthirsty berserkin' animal! Every time Ah fight, Ah risk that, because Ah _can't turn it off_!"

Shame filled his face, his very being as he stared down at his boot-clad feet.

Wendelin stayed silent. What could they say that would be even remotely helpful? Wendelin gathered their courage and spoke softly. "Does it matter what strangers think of you if your friends know who you really are? I've been called many things because of my Semblance. Snowflake, Icicle, the list goes on, but the important thing is that, no matter what people call me, it's not a reflection of who I am, unless I allow it to be."

"Ah guess you're right…" Owen trailed off. "Friends, huh? It'd be a nice change of pace."

Owen suddenly stopped moving. The air was thick with smoke and ash from the burning forest. Any and all creatures had long since fled, even the Grimm. It was easy to see why. The lush forest was ablaze with roaring flames. Thankfully, the fire was somewhat contained and the burning area was partially separate from the main forest by a wide outcropping of rocks.

Wendelin gratefully dislodged themself from Owen's shoulders. "You might want to stand back a bit. When I use Winter, it's got a habit of being hard to control."

Owen nodded and backed off a few paces but stayed within easy lunging distance. Apparently the giant believed that he could save them from the throes of their own Semblance. Wendelin appreciated the gesture more than Owen could probably fathom, but in all honesty, a few feet wouldn't save him if they lost control.

Wendelin drew in a deep breath in preparation for what they could feel would be an uphill battle against their Aura. The diminutive teen was thankful that they and the others who had created _Khione Blessing_ had thought to include air filters in the mask and hood; otherwise they would probably have suffocated by all of the thick, choking smoke that filled the air. They weren't sure how Owen hadn't even begun having difficulty breathing, if they had not been wearing the suit, they'd have either choked or cooked by now. Maybe the Faunus was just that tough?

Wendelin pointed their cupped palms at the nearest blazing tree and dredged up the smallest bit of Aura they could, which was still rather substantial, and fed it thought the Aura-sensitive circuits woven into their suit's fabric. Unlike the Aura of almost everyone else, their Aura was rigid and crystalline like ice, which naturally made it difficult to manipulate. The delicate circuits bled off the excess energy, storing it in capacitors that were in turn used to power the suit and allow Wendelin's Aura to be used through its dense weave.

A thick fog of tiny ice crystals formed between their palms. With a firm mental push, the cloud of ice particles swarmed the burning tree. Millions of the ice crystals melted long before they reached the blazing inferno, but Wendelin persevered, pushing more and more of their Aura into the circuits, pushing them to the brink of failure. Charred wood hissed in protest as the consuming flames were slowly beaten back by the encroaching ice. Wendelin didn't notice. They were so consumed with the tug of war with their Aura that they didn't notice when the last few pockets of fire sputter and recede, nor did they take notice when large ice crystals started to form. They didn't notice anything until their trance was broken when Owen gently grabbed their shoulder. Wendelin jolted in surprise, and it was at that moment that their tenuous control slipped.

With barely any warning, a massive amount of Aura tore its way from their body. The wild energy formed a barrage of large icicles that launched out from their outstretched hands and tore the area immediately before them apart in a chaotic explosion of wood, stone, earth, and ice.

All Wendelin could feel was the intense draining and ripping sensation of about half of their Aura being torn from their body in one massive burst. The ambiguously gendered student instinctively knew that if they kept losing Aura at this rate, the results, put bluntly, would be devastating. Suddenly, they were aware of a new presence, in the form of Owen's large hands slamming down on their shoulders.

"Reign it in, Wendy! This is your Aura, and your Semblance! They don' control you, you control them!" Owen shouted over the howling tempest. "Ah know yeh c'n do it! Ah do the same thing every day, so c'n you!"

With a cry of equal parts fear and effort, Wendelin _yanked_ all the Aura energy they could out of the wildly-flying shards of ice, channeling it back into their tiny body by way of the Aura circuits in the suit. The short teen collapsed heavily on their knees. Their breathing was as ragged and harsh as that of a man who had just run a dozen miles or done something equally strenuous.

"Knew ya could do it Wendy." Was it just their imagination, or was that pride they heard in the larger boy's voice?

"What?" Wendelin gasped tiredly.

" 's what Ah do, every minute of every day. Sure, it's not as flashy as yer…" The Faunus searched for a word, "col' snap, but if'n a big dumb Faunus like me c'n do it, so could you."

"You're not dumb." Wendelin panted before they turned to witness their handiwork. The entire clearing from where the partners were standing, to about fifteen feet behind the tree that had stated the blaze, was completely encased in a gleaming layer of pure ice. Sunlight glinted off of random curves and edges in a scintillating cascade of reflected brilliance.

Owen whistled lowly. "By Monty… yeh were tellin' the truth when you said it was Unstable. Sorry I doubted yah, little buddy."

"It's… fine…" Wendelin rasped. The diminutive ice-wielder tried to get up from the ground, but their legs felt like they had been made boneless by the strain of controlling their monstrous Aura. "You might need to carry me to the temple though… my legs feel like they're filled with lead pudding."

Owen laughed and easily picked up the (much) smaller student after slinging _Fatale Berserk_ across his shoulders by its strap.

"Thanks, Owen."

"Anytime."

**~AFT~**

Taiyo wondered why he bothered to exercise such caution as he carefully wove his way around a low-hanging branch, careful not to accidentally bump into it, break it, or touch it in any way. Even looking at it might've been too much, but he actively tried to avoid situations like what had happened earlier.

"Uintah is glad that you aren't being mean to Uintah's planty friends anymore." Uintah chirped from her position just behind him.

Ah there it was. One *ahem* 'warning' from the bubbly rabbit Faunus had been more than enough to tell him that breaking, touching, or thinking about the trees or plants was a _bad_ idea. Say what you would about her mannerisms and strange attitude, that girl could be _scary_ when she wanted to be. Hidden behind that soft, inviting exterior was a core of unyielding steel. That, coupled with an apparent willingness to inflict harm to get her way, made Taiyo more than a little wary.

When he'd accidentally, _accidentally!_ broken a green branch after tripping on a root, the rabbit Faunus had nearly turned murderous. Only a last-second flare of his Semblance had saved him from a more painful thump on the head than the one he'd gotten, courtesy of an oak tree that he just _knew_ Uintah had influenced with her Semblance. How else did one explain an otherwise out-of-the-way branch suddenly swinging down of its own volition?

"Ya'know, you didn't need to hit me. I _said_ I was sorry I tripped on that root."

"Of course Uintah knows _that_," Uintah practically sang, "Uintah just didn't want you to do it again."

"Seriously?" Taiyo demaded incredulously, "Then why hit me at all?"

Uintah had the nerve to actually _giggle_ at his shocked expression. "Because, _silly,_ lessons that don't hurt don't last as long." She absently brushed a hand across the back of her head, her fingers ghosting over a small stripe of white hair that he hadn't noticed before. "By the way, Mr. Mossbank, the one you are trying not to step on, says that he doesn't mind being walked on, as long as you're careful."

Taiyo gave Uintah a quick sidelong glance before she vanished beyond the next set of trees. Had she been hurt before? Was that what she was trying to tell him, in her own quirky way? Well, if she had, there wasn't much he could do about it, except stop it from happening again.

"Tai! There's the temple! Hurry up or she will leave you behind!" Uintah's voice echoed from just beyond the next trees.

That… was the wrong way. Again.

"Be right there, Win!" the redhead called back. He didn't rightly know why, but every time he looked at the rabbit Faunus, his protective instincts surged. She was like a child, both wise and ignorant of the world at the same time. At least he could do his best to protect her from here on out.

Neither ever noticed the thin silken strings that trailed in their wake.

**~AFT~**

Blaise was at a loss. How on Remnant was he supposed to get to know someone who couldn't _talk_? Alban wasn't just mute, he was completely _silent_! The red-eyed teen made absolutely no noise and left no trail when he ghosted along the forest floor, it was like the world itself didn't want to acknowledge his passage.

Safely cocooned in his _Aegis Black_, Blaise wondered just what he had gotten himself into. The armored teen wasn't ashamed, at least, not in the sanctuary he had crafted for himself, to admit that he was afraid. After all, it wasn't every day that someone with his condition tried to become a Huntsman.

Blaise was paralyzed from the waist down. It had been caused by an injury to his spine he had received in an accident when he was ten years old. His parents, who were high ranking executives of an Atlesian robotics company, had gotten the very best possible care for him, but in the end, it had all been for naught. While his paralyzed legs could still feel sensations, he could not walk on his own, and needed his weapon's base skeleton, carefully fitted around his slender body at all times in order to retain some semblance of self-sufficiency. His parents had only kept him in a wheelchair for about a month before they had cobbled together the machine that would one day be the base for _Aegis Black_.

The frame had been a far cruder machine when he had first been connected to it, barely capable of performing its designated function. When he turned twelve, in a fit of frustration, his Semblance had activated for the first time, and he instinctively knew how to improve his mechanical prison.

Genius, the other employees called it. Blaise knew better. It was not knowledge, but understanding that allowed him to see how to improve the exoskeleton. An instinctive intuition on how things needed to be done in different ways to how they had always been done. A strong desire to _improve_ what was already in use, and the inborn knowledge of how to do so.

In layman's terms, his Semblance was Aptitude.

Once he had improved the skeleton, Blaise moved on to ever more complex machines, both smaller and larger, all without any formal training or schooling beyond what was readily available on the Worldwide Information Network. Due to his youth, many of his projects were attributed to other roboticists, but he didn't mind that nearly as much as he minded his parents' constant dismissive attitude towards his gift. Their relationship had deteriorated over the years since he had managed to outshine them in robotics skill, to the point where he was basically a stranger living in their house.

In a fit of rebellion, he had secretly taken a scrapped AK 110 and modified its chassis to link with his exoskeleton. He had added extra armor, a more efficient Dust Generator of his own design, and several experimental weapons to the obsolete robot, making it into a formidable anti-Grimm weapon. If his parents couldn't accept him as he was, then he would find another way to live. His parents hadn't even noticed when he moved out, so absorbed were they in their work. No, not their work, their obsession. He had written them a note, and simply left.

They never contacted him. Blaise couldn't muster up any strength to care anymore. Sometimes he wondered if they even noticed he had left.

Blaise had met Morgan Kaine at Cloister Academy in Atlas when they both took the entrance exams. The redhead had quickly won him over with his easy confidence and devil-may-care attitude, and the two became fast friends. The rest, as they said, was history. The pair was inseparable, simultaneously the best of friends, and the friendliest of rivals. They had wanted to be partners, but now, Blaise just hoped they were on the same team.

Blaise shook off his trip down memory lane in time to see Alban block his path with the shaft of his cane.

"What is it?" Blaise asked.

Alban gave him a deadpan look in return before he gestured at a large, crumbling structure with his other hand. The building had clearly seen better days, at best, it was only a half circle of hewn stone held together by age-old mortar, which itself was half-covered by the fallen remains of a roof. Using the _Aegis Black's_ optical zoom function, Blaise was able to spot a number of waist-high pedestals with small figurines around the circle's perimeter.

"That looks like our objective. Shall we?"

Alban gave a pronounced eye roll in response. Blaise took that to mean 'well, duh' and just started walking. His partner strolled nonchalantly a short distance behind, red eyes constantly alert for danger.

"So… Which one do you think we should take?"

Alban favored him with a glare that Blaise interpreted as 'you incredible moron.' It was a slight comfort to the armor-clad paraplegic that his Semblance apparently worked as well on his partner's expressions as it did on machines. Without even waiting for his partner's input the white-haired youth snatched a black queen piece from a nearby pedestal and left the ruins.

The mute regenerator gestured to a trail of flattened grass that almost looked like someone had been dragged over it and then motioned to Blaise that they should follow it. The armor-clad teen just shrugged and followed Alban's lead.

**~AFT~**

"We must be getting close. There's much fewer Grimm around here." Tyrian observed as he fired a beam of concentrated heat from _Dextro _through another Ursa's chest while pushing his glasses further up on his nose. He really should get a better-fitting pair; these ones gave him nothing but trouble. And sight, but that was beside the point.

"I hope so." Ianthe huffed while she reeled her razor wires back into her _Marionette Grace_. "I never thought I'd complain about the lack of Grimm, but this forest is boring if your life isn't in danger from black monstrosities."

"I didn't take you for the bloodthirsty type, Aega." Tyrian remarked as he checked _Dextro's _Dust level. Satisfied that he wasn't going to run short of Dust for now, he holstered it and repeated the process on its twin, _Sinistro_. "I've got enough Blaze Dust for a few more shots, but after that, I'll have to go melee."

"Ordinarily I'm not, but aside from finding this temple, fighting Grimm is the only thing to do here. On another note, I've never heard of Blaze Dust before." Ianthe stated, as she raised an eyebrow at her partner.

"Well, it's a new type of Dust my family experimented with a while back." Tyrian revealed offhandedly. "Basically, it's a fusion of Fire and Earth Dust, with a bit of Wind tossed in for combustion. It's fairly dangerous to use in large quantities, and production is not much of a priority right now, but it's dead useful in the small amounts the twins use. It gets harder to control when I use _Tyche_, though."

"Don't leave me hanging Sparrow, you've got me curious now."

Curious to know whether or not she was going to die in a few minutes because of one miscalculation. Death by science…. What a way to go. At least it could be at the hands of someone she didn't absolutely hate.

"Oh, _Tyche_? That's the name of the combined melee form of the twins. If we run into anything more dangerous, I might show it to you, but considering we haven't run into anything high level, and the fact that _Tyche_ and the twins are technically prototypes that I might not exactly have permission to field test, you might want to keep at a safe distance."

"I've always wanted to be involved in weapons testing, but…" Ianthe trailed off, looking for the right words. "My… condition precludes me from most occupations that don't take place in near darkness. Well, the overprotective parents don't exactly help in that regard either…"

"Well, maybe over the next long break, I can introduce you to some of my family's contacts in the weapon development field. Those guys are always eager to have new weapons testers. You know; ones that actually have permission."

"I'd greatly appreciate that, Sparrow." She paused and cast about for a moment. "I think the temple is this way. The trees thin out a bit, and I can see a clearing."

"Then let's go. Maybe if we're lucky, we can get out of the forest before nightfall."

The pair exchanged no more words until after they traversed the wide, open clearing and entered the ruined temple. The grass was almost fully grown in some areas, but in others, it seemed to be a tame length. All of it was green, no dry spots or muddy places.

"Looks like someone else got here first." Tyrian commented as he and his partner inspected the remaining relics. Several pieces, both gold and black, were already gone. "Any preferences as to which we claim?"

"Actually, yes." Ianthe decreed as she lashed out with one finger. A single strand of wire leapt from her weapon and wrapped around a golden queen piece and quickly retracted back into its spool with a faint whirring noise, carrying the piece with it. "The Queen was always my favorite piece in chess." Ianthe tucked the large chess piece into a hidden pocket in her sleeve before she froze in place. "Someone is coming."

"Excellent," Tyrian replied, "It'll be good to know who got partnered up."

Ianthe and Tyrian took up a position next to the crumbling wall. The precariously stacked rubble might not offer much in the way of cover, but it was better than nothing. Tyrian made the mistake of leaning against the worn stone, only to nearly fall when the block he leaned on gave way in a cascade of loose gravel and dust. Tyrian brushed himself off with as much dignity as he could muster; an endeavor that was not assisted by his partner's muffled laughter.

"Did you hear that?"

Was that Uintah?

"It sounds like the sound of two of our friends hiding from us and revealing themselves because one of them broke something!"

Yes. Yes it was.

"Win, just because they are fellow students, doesn't mean they are our friends. Remember that one guy on the airship you told me about?"

And that would be her partner.

"At least that one only pulled on Uintah's ears! That tends to happen a lot… Oh, but one time someone tried to cut off Uintah's foot to make a lucky charm! That day wasn't Uintah's favorite…"

"WHAT?!"

Never a dull moment.

Ianthe cocked her head to the side. "Is that my little brother?"

Before Tyrian could answer her, a brown haired rabbit Faunus wearing a large straw sunhat skipped into the temple and immediately went to the nearest pedestal, apparently enthralled by whatever chess piece was there. So much so that she grabbed it with an honest to Dust _squeal_ of excitement. Tyrian only caught a glimpse of gold before Uintah slid the figure into one of her belt pouches. She rubbed her hands together and clapped some imaginary dust off of them, having apparently not noticed both Ianthe and Tyrian standing near the wall. Her tall rabbit ears twitched slightly.

"Uintah wonders why Tai didn't follow her and said something about giving a beating to someone else…" She turned and saw the other pair of students. "Oh hi, Tyr! Uintah found a nice partner who doesn't mind that Uintah is a Faunus! Also, he's really strong!" She paused for a moment as she studied Ianthe intently and smiled. "Is this your partner? Uintah likes her! She's beautiful!"

"What…?" Ianthe was taken aback. This was the first time she had been called 'beautiful' in someone's first impression. Normally people took one look at her and immediately classified her as some kind of freak. She was mostly beyond that now, but that experience had permanently soured her belief in the possibility of good first impressions.

By the time Ianthe's brain rebooted, Uintah had already skipped out of the ruins and was currently using her Semblance to encourage grass and flowers with dark orange petals to grow in the meadow while she carefully danced and spread seeds. She held on to her hat with one hand while she spun and leapt, following a pattern only she seemed to know.

"Is she always like that?"

Tyrian chuckled. "Yep, that's Win for ya. Sorry, she gets like this in places with a lot of plants. Usually she's a bit more… composed. Just a little."

"Whatever she's on, I want some."

Before Tyrian could explain further, he was interrupted by the appearance of a shorter teen clad in a slightly ragged red _gi_ with a yellow belt and cuffs over a black shirt appearing in the doorway. There was a sunburst pattern over his heart in the same color scheme, and the boy himself was in extremely good shape for someone of his age. Though, precisely _how_ this was the case was a question that occurred to Tyrian, because the boy was currently _chugging_ a liter bottle marked Dust Shot. Traces of gray dust and blood were visible on his hands, almost like he had just finished beating a rock to dust.

Man, this guy had a stomach of _steel_, to say nothing about the rest of his digestive system.

"Whoa buddy, you might want to slow down." Tyrian remarked. The other boy favored him with a light glare.

"Haah," the boy gasped after he finished off the bottle, "Hoo, that's some good stuff there." At Tyrian's incredulous stare, he continued, "Oh, don't worry, that wasn't the concentrated stuff you buy in a store. I cut it with some protein powder, whey, fiber supplements and milk. Tastes kinda weird at first, but eh. You get used to it."

The boy held out his right hand. "I'm Taiyo Akairo, Uintah's partner, just call me Tai, everyone else does." Tai, glanced over Tyrian's shoulder, "Hey sis,"

"Little brother." Ianthe replied evenly, "I see you've found a good partner."

"I could say the same about you, sis." Tai turned to Tyrian, "when I said everyone, I meant everyone besides my uptight big sis."

"Wait, little brother?" Tyrian broke in, glancing at Ianthe, who was glaring daggers at Tai. "Sis?" he echoed, with a glance at Tai.

"Yeah, I'm adopted." Tai interjected before Ianthe could explain for him.

"Well. Okay then. We should probably get going." Tyrian said with a shake of his head.

"Wait a second. If you two are over here, then I have two questions. Who is watching Uintah? Also, since clearly none of us are, where is she?"

"Not again." Tai groaned. "She did this earlier on the way over. That's why it took us so long to get here, she kept wandering off."

Tyrian sighed. "I'd suggest getting used to it. She does that pretty much whenever you take your eyes off her for more than about four seconds."

Just like a hyperactive rabbit.

"Have you considered a tracking device? Or a leash?" Ianthe deadpanned.

Tyrian turned to glare at his partner. "Because I just met you, I'm going to let that one slide. But," His voice lowered threateningly. "I don't _ever _want to hear you suggest something like that again. She gets enough crap just for being… well, being Win. She doesn't need the added burden of being treated like a child or an animal. She understands more than you know."

"Woah, okay man, Ianthe was just messing with you," Tai interjected on his sister's behalf. "I know, it's hard to tell sometimes, but underneath the emotionless exterior she does actually have a sense of humor. Its tiny and stunted, but it's there."

"I… Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that. Come on, let's go find her."

Before the trio made it too far, they heard someone singing softly from the other side of the crumbling wall. Tyrian motioned to his companions to be quiet and inched his way along the wall, until he caught sight of the wayward Uintah kneeling by a patch of dirt near the tree line. The rabbit Faunus was carefully depositing individual seeds into small holes she had dug with the tip of her trowel-like dagger. She was singing quietly to herself while she watched the tiny seeds sprout and grow in response to her Semblance feeding them her Aura.

"_This is Win's garden, she'll plant it with care,  
Here are the seeds she will plant in there,  
The sun will shine,  
The rain will fall,  
The seeds will sprout and grow up tall_."

Uintah paused in her planting and singing long enough to cheerfully wave at the dumbstruck trio. Did she not realize that they were in the middle of apparently dangerous territory?

"Oh, hello again everyone!"

Apparently not.

"Uintah was bored with waiting for our other friends who Grass-Grass says will be here soon, so she went to plant some seeds to say 'thanks for telling her'."

Tai and Ianthe both looked over at Tyrian, who shrugged in confusion. "Who do you mean, Win? We're all here already."

Uintah laughed as she got up and dusted some stray dirt from her dress. The Faunus skipped over to the trio before she replied. "Not you three, silly. The Blind One Who Sees More, Conway Kieran, Wendelin, and Owen. They'll all be here soon."

"Who?"

"Don't you remember? You and Uintah met Conway Kieran yesterday on the airship, and then Uintah met Owen Alpine and Wendelin Match after that. Though…" She tapped her chin with a puzzled expression on her face, "Uintah doesn't remember meeting the Blind One Who Sees More. Grass-Grass says that Mr. Oaky's friends told her about them."

"All right, Wen. We'll wait for them." Tyrian acquiesced. The black-haired boy glanced back at their other two companions. "You two ok with that?"

Ianthe shrugged while Tai dropped to all fours and started a set of pushups. "Got nothin' better to do, and my partner looks like she's not going anywhere anytime soon, so sure, why not?"

**~AFT~**

"I'm sorry."

It was a testament to Glynda's self-control that she didn't gasp in shock when she heard those two words from her boss. Years of holding in her reactions when faced with unruly teammates and students alike had given her plenty of practice, but to hear him actually apologize was something of a shock. She knew he carried years' worth of regrets for decisions or mistakes he had made, but to hear him actually say those words… It had never, to her knowledge, happened before.

"For what?" She asked cautiously.

"It was not, and is not my place to remind you of things we both know you'd rather not remember. It was wrong of me to do so, and for that, I apologize." Ozpin took a breath, as though fortifying his courage for what he was going to say next. "However, I will ask you to remember that Terran's son, despite the resemblance, is not the man himself." Before she could respond, he continued. "I admit; I don't know the details, but… As I recall, he told Crystal…"

"I don't give a damn what he told her! As far as I'm concerned, I should have put that… that _mongrel_ down myself!"

"His last words…."

"Oh, his apology. Yes, well it certainly did me a lot of good." She said sarcastically.

Ozpin was taken aback by the sheer hatred Glynda expressed. She was rarely outwardly kind, or even sincerely concerned, but she was almost never quite this vehement. He knew of course that bringing up Terran Grey or any member of her former team was sure to provoke a reaction, but he hadn't expected it to be this extreme. He supposed that the complicated emotions she had for her late partner were still too raw even nearly two decades later for her to even consider any feelings aside from anger and hatred.

"I understand if you have no respect for his actions or his memory, but if nothing else, at least give Terran the respect of the dead. He may have made a grievous error, but he was a powerful Huntsman and a decent man. Now I'll say no more on this subject, but I will request that you give his son a chance to prove that he isn't his father."

Glynda looked back to her Scroll. Several moments passed before she looked out over the forest and replied. "I can only say I'll try. I make no promises, Headmaster."

Ozpin recognized that this was the best answer he was likely to get out of his employee and nodded in tacit acceptance. Well, he had done all he could for Terran's son, now the rest was up to him. He only hoped that the boy could make a good impression.

The headmaster's attention was drawn back to his Scroll when it emitted a series of high-pitched pings.

"Hmm. That's odd. Most of our cameras in the temple region have been disabled."

"What could've caused that?" Glynda queried while she attempted to access the cameras Ozpin mentioned. An error message appeared on her Scroll's screen that read_ Error 404: Camera Not Found_. With a growing sense of unease, she checked the rest of the cameras only to receive an identical message for each of the dozen or so devices hidden in that area of the forest.

"Should we intervene? Or at least investigate?" She asked. Though she could care less about Terran's spawn, she did have a responsibility to protect the rest of the students from danger beyond their skill.

"No. Whatever is about to happen, I trust they can handle it. All the other student partners have already retrieved their relics, so those twelve are the only ones in the forest. If twelve prospective first year students aren't enough, Professor Green was able to preserve a small amount of Terran's blood and Aura before it dissipated." He didn't miss Glynda's flinch when he touched his cross pin. "Enough for a single use of his Semblance, should it be necessary."

"Don't you mean eight students? Mikado, Kaine, Noir, and Radley have already arrived at the base of the cliffs." Glynda remarked. The thought of any part of that man still existing beyond his moldering bones rankled her more than she cared to admit, especially to her boss. If only his Semblance weren't so blasted useful…

"Then I suppose we will just have to trust those who remain." The headmaster returned. "Don't worry, I shall step in myself if need be."

**~AFT~**

"Well, we're finally here." River said as she and Conway approached the ruin. "Honestly, you'd think this place would be easier to find. Or maybe we just got flung further than others. In either case, meh."

"Yeah. Meh." Conway agreed. His fox ears twitched in their confinement. Even under the cloth and his hair, they still had more acute hearing than his human-looking ones. "We're not alone. Relax," he continued when River visibly tensed, "I met them on the ship yesterday. I think they're waiting for us to choose a relic."

"Oy there! Got room for two more?" A surprisingly deep voice echoed across the open clearing. The partners turned just in time for Owen to appear next to them in a burst of unexpected speed, with the smaller Wendelin still held securely in his arms.

"Why not?" Conway replied with a grin that could accurately be described as 'foxy'. Ugh, now he was making puns on his own species. What was wrong with him today? He glanced at his silent partner. Maybe her attitude was rubbing off on him? "How 'bout it, River? You good if they come with?"

River tilted her head and turned so she was facing the giant. She remained silent for a few moments before she finally replied with a small smile. "Sure. I heard teams are supposed to be four people anyway."

Conway almost wanted to ask what she Divined from their two new companions, but thought better of it. He had no wish for his secrets to be exposed, after all, what right did he have to ask about others'? People had a right to their secrets, and River didn't like her Semblance's 'side effects' anyway.

"So what happened to… him? Her? Is Wendelin a boy or a girl?" Conway asked.

"Semblance overuse ta the firs', an' for tha second, honestly, ah'm not real sure. Did'n think it'd be proper ta ask." Owen returned, shifting his partner's limp form in his arms slightly.

Honestly the question of Wendelin's gender was pretty much a moot point to both young men. Owen didn't care because he and his partner shared the burden of having Unstable Semblances that could be a danger to people around them, and Conway simply thought that having a one-to-one ratio of males to females in the potential team could only help later on. Raging hormones, close quarters, and frequent exposure to high stress situations did not make a compelling case for celibacy.

Seriously, they had been taken past the dorms earlier that morning on the way to the cliff, and almost _every_ room they had passed had absolutely _reeked _of sex pheromones. As to how he knew what _those_ smelled like… Well, Conway tried his hardest not to remember. It didn't help that Ákos had given him 'the talk' later that day. He still yearned for the days of youthful innocence.

He'd have to invest in some powerful air freshener once they moved into the dorms, but that was a problem for later. Owen and Uintah couldn't have found it particularly pleasant either, especially Uintah. Rabbits have a better sense of smell than most animals, but she very well might have not even noticed. It was hard to tell with her.

"Well, all that's left is to grab the relics and get outta here. After you," Conway said, gesturing to the temple.

Owen entered the ruins, carefully balancing his semi-conscious teammate on one arm while he grabbed a gold chess piece that Conway didn't see before the larger Faunus stowed it in his pocket. The fox glanced at his partner who shrugged.

"Pick whichever one you want. It makes no difference to me."

Conway nodded and, after a moment of consideration, picked up a gold bishop piece. It just… felt right. As he didn't see himself as a true powerhouse, like a Queen, or a figure of authority, like a King. No. Like the Bishop, he didn't try to work in a direct fashion, he just moved around obstacles in his path. Conway hefted the piece experimentally. It was surprisingly light for being made of metal that _looked_ like gold. With a shrug, the blond stuffed the piece into one of his cargo pockets and stepped back over to River, who was leaning against an intact column.

Before Conway could say a word, a loud _thud_ echoed through the clearing. Conway felt the ground tremble slightly while the loud noises built in frequency. After a particularly powerful tremor, the tiny form of Wendelin broke free of Owen's grip when the next rapid series of thuds actually shook the ground, but luckily for the ambiguously gendered student, zhe was already well on their way to waking up. Gravity just expedited the process.

"What's going on?" Wendelin asked as Conway, heedless of the potent chill that emanated from the smaller figure, grabbed one of their grasping hands and hauled them to their feet.

"Whatever it is, I can't see it. Means that it's either out of range, in which case, we're thoroughly in trouble, or its underground, so, you know, not quite as much trouble, but still pretty bad." River remarked as she pushed herself off the column and brought _Sileigeach Faireoir _up to her shoulder in its burst-fire mode. Conway drew _Spritely Whisper _and thumbed the stud that controlled the blade, launching it from its confines with a flash of steel. Owen unlimbered _Fatale Berserk _from his back in its collapsed shot-cannon form and extended the shaft and blades with a single, well-practiced motion. Taking a cue from their companions, Wendelin primed the Fire Dust in their gauntlets, sending small sparks of flame from their cupped palms.

Just as the foursome drew their weapons, Conway caught sight of a few very familiar figures running towards them.

"Conway Kieran!"

Ah, of course. She had found him.

"Win?" was all he had time to say before the rabbit Faunus glomped him. Good Oum, how had she gotten over here so fast?

"Something big is coming this way!" His fellow Faunus chirped cheerily when he managed to disentangle himself from her arms. "Grass-Grass says it's underground!"

Just as the bubbly Faunus finished her declaration, a massive pair of spine-covered limbs burst from the ground mere yards from the group of eight, only to be immediately retracted. Moments later, four more legs widened the hole enough for the main body of the monstrous Grimm to be pulled from its earthy prison.

It was truly a titanic specimen. Each of its eight black legs was at least twelve feet long and clad in dull white bones that were chipped and scarred from what had to be decade's worth of battle and tunneling. Those were attached to a smaller, round central joint that also attached to a much larger bulb-shaped appendage and an ugly head, both plated with dense bone covered in red markings. Eight red eyes glittered like dark rubies in the depths of the spider-like Grimm's bone mask. Two smaller legs lay curled below its giant mandibles. The Grimm reared back onto its four hind legs and emitted a piercing screech that would probably have sent them all to the ground had Conway not diverted it in time.

"Welp. We're boned."

"Thanks for summing this situation up so nicely, Sparrow." Ianthe deadpanned while she unspooled her wires.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm more excited to fight this thing than I think I've ever been before!" Tai proclaimed as he took on a ready stance with his gauntlets and boots expanded. "I'm getting more pumped up than ever!"

"Uintah wants to call it a Spinnerling! She'll keep it in a shoebox, and feed it every day..."

"Um… Win, I hate to break it to you, but that's not a pet…"

"You know what?" Conway began, "Fine. Let's call it that. Now that we have that important detail out of the way, let's kill it. River, aim for the eyes or any weak point you can Divine."

Ryan nodded and wordlessly transformed her weapon into its sniper mode.

Uintah, Wendel, can you use your Semblances?" When the two nodded, Conway continued, "Good. Win, can you try and slow it down with some vines or something? Wendel, try and impale it from below if you can. Ianthe, you use wires? Try to restrict its movement. Tai, Owen, get in close and cause havoc."

"That's my specialty!"

"Alrigh' Con, yeh got it."

"Tyrian, can you provide ranged support, and move in close when you can? Those guns of yours are Dust-based?" At the glasses-wearing teen's answering nod, Conway continued, "Use anything that can pierce, like Wind or Lightning if you've got it. That should give us the best chance of getting through its armor."

"What about you?" Tyrian asked while he drew _Dextro_ and _Sinistro_.

Conway drew his gun. "I'm going to try and break its armor. Everyone ready? Let's move!"

It was impossible to tell who moved first, the eight students, or the newly-named Spinnerling. Tai reached the spiderlike Grimm before his comrades and opened combat with a strong punch to the spider's front right leg that left a slight crack in the bone-armor. The spider screeched and swiped at the redhead, who ducked under the offending limb and the following attempted bite, which he countered with a punch to its mandible. Owen, who followed mere steps behind the martial artist, was less lucky. The ox Faunus blocked the swipe with his weapon, but the force behind the blow was enough to send him flying into a tree. Undeterred, Owen, along with Tyrian, Conway, and River, opened fire on the old Grimm. Tiny explosions of multicolored light burst against its armored head and forelegs as the spider covered its vulnerable eyes with its forelegs, opening itself to a leaping strike from Tai. Ianthe wove her way through the forest of stampeding limbs with her wires extended to maximum length. With a few deft motions, the wires scored multiple thin scratches on the miserably strong armor.

"Move!" Wendelin shouted as they slammed their hands on the ground. Ianthe quickly anchored herself to a tree and used it to pull herself from the fight, while Tai opted to simply take several leaping strides back. A trail of ice leapt from Wendelin's hands and raced under the Spinnerling before it coalesced into a trio of thick icicles.

"Owen!" Conway shouted, "Smack it down!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the ox Faunus let out a bellow of rage. His muscles visibly bulked up and his stance became more feral, though he retained his death-grip on his weapon. With surprising speed, Owen closed the distance between himself and the Spinnerling and jumped with his axe raised high above his head. It was a good attempt, but the Spinnerling blocked Owen's strike with one of its massive legs. The axe blade sheared through the offending limb at the second joint, but the old Grimm was quick enough to strike Owen with two more of its limbs while he was overextended before launching a spray of thick webbing at him from its spinneret that trapped the near-berserk Faunus against a tree. The Grimm's thrashing shattered Wendelin's icicles like so much spun glass, scattering glittering shards through the air.

While the Grimm was distracted by the largest member of their party, Conway and Tyrian both rushed in. The former ran to Owen's side while the latter ducked under a large chunk of ice and thumbed a button on both of his twin pistols, which caused the blades under the barrels to extend, changing them into a pair of shortswords that he quickly connected spine to spine, forming a broad sword hilt. The blade extended further, and he hit another button, covering the large blade with a thick coating of Blaze Dust.

"Let's gamble, _Tyche_!" he shouted as the blade ignited. He swung at the closest limb, coincidentally, one of those that had been scored by Ianthe's wires. Tyche's sharp blade sliced through the armor and bit deeply into the black-furred flesh below. The Grimm roared in pain and jerked its injured limb away from the black-haired boy. Its frenzied thrashing nearly pulled _Tyche _from its owner's grasp. While Tyrian was distracted, the Spinnerling's jaws closed around his right arm from wrist to shoulder and bit down before it sent him flying with a blow from another limb. Tychewas sent spinning out of its holder's hand as thick blood mixed with a foul dark liquid stained his white coat. Luckily for the rest of the forest the blazing sword melted halfway through a rock before the Dust deactivated.

Uintah screamed her friend's name when she saw him get bitten, and quickly used her Semblance to influence the trees into catching him with the same kind of net she made for herself earlier. The rabbit Faunus breathed a sigh of relief when her planty friends gently caught her first non-planty friend and lowered him to the ground. The Eden-user sensed that her friend was alive, but unconscious. The holes left by the Spinnerling's fang emitted faint electrical sparks as Tyrian unconsciously tried to move his unresponsive arm.

Uintah turned back to the spider-like Grimm just as it launched a spray of silk at Wendelin, pinning the elfin teen to the ground.

"Careful!" they shouted, "This thing's silk disrupts Aura and weakens Semblances!"

The rabbit Faunus' brow furrowed in anger and her eyes almost blazed with the force of her released Aura as she stomped on the ground, sending a wave of thick roots towards the Spinnerling.

"You hurt Tyr! Uintah won't ever forgive you! DIE!" Waves of thorny vines and brambles burst from the ground beneath the giant, spider-like Grimm and wrapped around its limbs, tightly restraining it. River took the opportunity to shoot out one of its eyes, showering the destroyed meadow with spurts of black gore.

"Damn! I can barely see it! It's like it disrupts Semblances just by existing!" The flame-haired sniper cursed as she fired again. The Earth Dust projectile scored a thin line into the Spinnerling's face, just below one of its other eyes.

"Now, Conway Kieran! Hit it!" Uintah yelled before she collapsed to the ground, temporarily exhausted by overuse of her Semblance.

Conway had been far from idle while his friends fought. Using his balisong, he had carefully cut Owen free from the web that imprisoned him. Once that was done, the fox Faunus started quickly spinning _Spritely Whisper _between his fingers, letting the eerie keening sound build as he trapped the errant sound waves with his Semblance. With a delicate application of his Aura, he shaped the chaotic waves into a cohesive mass of roiling sonic energy in the rough shape of a basketball-sized sphere over his left palm. When he could barely contain it, Conway turned to the recovering Owen.

"How good is your aim?"

Owen gave a feral grin in response and grabbed the smaller blond by the shoulders. With a mighty heave, Conway got to experience flight for the second time that day. This time was only slightly more enjoyable though, since instead of falling from the top of a cliff into a Grimm-infested forest, he was only being thrown from a much lesser height, to his potential death against a single unknown Grimm.

Conway yelled as he slammed the ball of condensed wave energy against the Spinnerling's armored midsection. The shell of Aura that barely contained the trapped sonic waves shattered on impact, releasing the contained energy in a single, directionless, shrieking burst that shattered the armor that protected the old Grimm's back and sides. Conway was not spared the backlash of his risky attack, but thanks to his Faunus reflexes, he managed to keep his balance on the Spinnerling's thrashing back. The flutist extended his blade and engaged the Dust reactor. Fire leapt along the sharp steel just before he stabbed it into the Grimm's back. The ancient creature shrieked in fury and redoubled its efforts to escape its arboreal prison. The vines and creaked and groaned in protest as the Grimm tore three of its legs free with a deafening roar. Conway lost his grip on his weapon when the Spinnerling freed the rest of its legs from Uintah's plants, followed by the loss of his footing on the Grimm's back when the spider reared back on its four hind legs.

For the third time that day, Conway felt himself fly, but this time, his impromptu flight was arrested quite violently by way of an oak tree. The fox Faunus yelped in pain as the radius and ulna in his left arm cracked and broke on impact. He grit his teeth and shouted, "Gah! Owen! Tai! Break it!"

"Right!" Tai shouted just before he charged headlong at the Spinnerling. This proved foolhardy mere moments later when the spider batted him away. The redhead merely grinned and righted himself in midair, extending his left arm toward his sister, who immediately lashed her wires around his thick gauntlet.

"I love when we do thiiiiiiiis….!" Tai started just before Ianthe yanked sharply on the wires, pulling her brother into a circular arc.

"That makes one of us, you heavy idiot!"

"Thanks Sis! _Plus Twenty-Eight Percent_! _Suisei Dageki_!"

Her muscles burned with the effort of swinging her brother. Despite having practiced this maneuver practically since he came to live with them, it had never gotten any easier for her to actually spin him, even with the assistance of her Semblance. Tai's hair gained golden streaks as he flared his Aura even higher to overcome the Spinnerling's dampening effect.

Owen opted for the simpler approach. After his Aura patched up the minor cracks in his bones from his sudden impact with the tree, the ox Faunus crouched down on all fours with a deep growl and simply gave in to his Semblance. His horns grew several inches, and the rest of his muscles also visibly grew. His normally kind brown eyes became bloodshot and angry. The Rampage-user bellowed his anger to the sky and dropped to all fours, with his axe clenched in his white-knuckled hands.

Several things happened at once while the spider was distracted by River and the recovering Uintah's continuing barrage of bullets. The blue-haired giant charged, Ianthe detached her wires from Tai's arm, which sent him flying, Tyrian regained consciousness, and Conway drew his own gun. What was most surprising though was Wendelin. Instead of fighting to get free of the webbing that bound them, the tiny teen looked like they were actively gathering as much as they could hold on their arms, and wrapping it around their limbs.

"Everyone! Don't touch the ground!" Wendelin shouted as they slammed their hands on the ground again, only this time, the amount of ice was much greater. It spread along the ground in a wave of freezing Aura, leaving everything in its wake coated in a crystal-clear layer of pure ice. The sheer _presence _of Wendelin's released Aura was enough to send the Grimm reeling in shock. Just before the wave of ice reached Owen, he took a running leap towards the Spinnerling. Uintah had grown a tall, leafy vine that snatched up Tyrian and River, while Ianthe had anchored herself to a tree with her wires, and Conway hurriedly scrambled up to a low branch as fast as he could with a cracked arm.

The effect of Wendelin's attack on the Spinnerling were immediately apparent. The Grimm's muscles and armor froze in an instant. A smooth, hard shell of ice completely covered the ancient creature in a splintered moment. Just as the ice finished coating the Grimm, Tai struck it feet-first in the side with all the force of a small meteor while Owen swung his ax at the Grimm's other side. Caught between an unrelenting force and what amounted to a splitting wedge, the frozen Grimm did the only thing it could. With a tremendous screech, the spider's damaged midsection gave way to the crushing power of both prospective students and dissolved into black dust, followed quickly by the rest of its body.

Conway dropped from his tree and made his way over to the others who were congregating by the pile of black dust that was all that remained of the monstrous Grimm that had been trying to kill them mere moments ago. The blond grit his teeth and bit back a yelp of pain as he roughly set his fractured arm. He quickly snapped a pair of sticks from a nearby frozen tree and pulled off his red scarf with gritted teeth to roughly splint it. He used his scarf as a makeshift sling, using his teeth to pull the knots tight enough to hold the ersatz splint in place.

"Well. That worked." Tyrian commented when Conway reached the group. The other boy had long since retrieved his weapon from its rocky sheath and reverted it to its dual pistol form. His arm had stopped bleeding, though the entire sleeve was still stained bright red. "Good plan, Con."

"Whoo! That was fun, can we go again?" Tai laughed from his current sprawled position on the ground. "On second thought, can we wait for me to heal from all these torn muscles first? My Semblance makes me stronger, not invincible, and that thing's dampening field messed up my control a bit."

"Idiot. Why did you push your Plus Scale so high?" Ianthe muttered while she used her wires to carefully move his limbs into positions where the muscles would heal more easily. The puppeteer was somewhat disheveled, but still completely covered. "Also… What have I told you about naming your attacks?"

"Um… Not to?" Tai replied sheepishly. "Ow, why!?"

"Oh stop whining, you've done worse to yourself," Ianthe said while she ran her sleeve-covered hands over Tai's arm, "You should just be grateful that my Semblance can also knit body parts back together. Otherwise, it would take you forever to heal up."

"Conway Kieran! You dropped this!" Uintah said, holding out his weapon. The Dust generator had deactivated itself when the Spinnerling vanished. The Fox gratefully took his flute back and inspected its sleek casing for damage. Apart from a few minor scratches, the weapon was in fine condition. He carefully put it back into the sheath on his leg, mindful of his cracked arm.

Conway took a seat beside the silent River on a mossy boulder that Uintah had cleared for that specific purpose. Wendelin was still gathering as much of the Spinnerling's silk as they could hold in their arms, which was a fair amount for someone of their stature. Tyrian was pouring the contents of a glass vial on his bitten arm. If the ensuing steam was any indication, it was some sort of mixture that promoted rapid healing. When the steam cleared, the black-haired boy flexed his arm, showing unmarked skin through the holes in his stained jacket.

"Alright people, let's get moving." The bespectacled student said as he got up from his seat on a fallen tree.

"Yeah, we need to get back to the school and tell them about this new Grimm we discovered." Ianthe said as she heaved her brother to his feet and draped one of his arms across her shoulders, conspicuously ignoring the redhead's sounds of discomfort. "Seriously, stop that Tai. You are not hurt that badly."

"I can't believe the teacher's didn't come to help us…" Wendelin muttered as they gathered more silk and began tying it into a bundle.

"They might have not known we were in trouble. Or maybe they decided to let us handle it ourselves. The Headmaster strikes me as the type to refrain from interference unless absolutely necessary." River remarked.

"I doubt that assistant Headmistress would've helped us anyway. I swear that woman has something against me…"

"Oh, by the way, Conway…" Ianthe started. Conway turned to look at the albino. "You might want this back. You lost it when that Grimm knocked you into the tree."

In her hand was his hat.

Conway's hand flew to his head, and to his horror, he felt his fox ears were completely exposed. This was it. The end of his social life at Beacon before he was even officially accepted as a student, and all because of his hat's inability to stay on his head. Before he could get properly worked up though, Uintah piped up.

"Uintah knew you'd look better without that."

"She beat me by one second." River commented with a shrug. "Though, I guess it works better for her. You all look pretty much the same to me."

Everyone, sans Conway and Uintah, who was examining a butterfly that had chosen to perch on one of her ears, gave the druidic-looking girl an incredulous stare. After a moment, the redhead continued defensively. "Hey, I can only see in Aura, remember? I see people as blobs of color, and everything else is kind of gray, or black. Unless I get close, and I'm _really_ looking, I can't see faces that clearly."

Conway was taken aback. Here he was, ears exposed, and all the others could think about was River's Aura Sight? Then he realized, his partner had deflected the other's attention on purpose.

But why?

Conway jolted in surprise when Owen clapped a large hand on his shoulder. "Ah unnerstand Conway. Sometimes, Ah wish Ah weren' a Faunus either. But. Yah cn't ever be ashamed o' what yeh are. If'n yah are, then they win."

Tyrian shrugged. "Yeah… My best friend slash little sister is a Faunus, so… I don't really mind that you're one too." He chuckled. "Your species sure didn't stop you from coming up with that battle strategy."

"Uintah _is_ a Faunus! It's always nice to know another Faunus, even if she already knew Conway Kieran was one." Uintah glanced at the others, who were giving her an incredulous look. "Nature told Uintah." She said while she took a length of creeper vine from her sleeve and added it to Conway's scarf in supporting his arm. "Though, Uintah doesn't know why your ears are gold with white tips, and not orange with black tips like other foxes… Or why you don't really smell much like a fox..."

River leaned on her weapon. "I already knew. I Divined it yesterday on the airship. Didn't matter then, doesn't matter to me now, we're still partners."

Wendelin glanced up from their task of folding the gathered silk into a manageable bundle. "Human, or Faunus makes no difference to your skills, and those are what matter most in this place. I don't care either way. Heck, my partner is a Faunus too."

"I still want a rematch!" Tai exclaimed loudly, prompting his sister to elbow him in the ribs. "Ow! This time with both of us at our full potential! Don't think I didn't notice your balance was off when we fought last time!"

"But… why?" Conway asked, confused. "Why don't you care? All my life…"

"Because we fought together, and besides, my little brother likes you. What more reason do we need?" Replied the formerly silent Ianthe, as she proffered his hat to him again.

Slowly, hesitatingly, the revealed Faunus reached out and took the hat from the albino's hand.

**~AFT~**

"Ugh… finally back to the school. I'd say it's a sight for sore eyes, but, well… " River trailed off as she leaned heavily on her weapon.

"Ha. Ha. Really funny River." Conway deadpanned while picking at the sling that held his right arm. "If this whole 'Huntress' thing doesn't work out for you, you could always try being a comedian."

"You're just jealous because I said it before you could. I _know _you were thinking it." She smirked and tapped her temple. "Face it; that would've been a heck of a lot more tasteless coming from you."

Now it was Conway's turn to huff in annoyance. Cheap-ass Aura-reading Semblance…

"I thought it was funny." Wendelin chirped from their position on Owen's shoulders.

Conway rolled his eyes in mild aggravation. Ever since the battle with the newly-discovered Grimm, the tiny, ambiguously gendered student had been almost annoyingly chipper. Thankfully, he (or possibly she) wasn't as bad as that one red-clad girl, whose name _still _escaped him. Probably had something to do with the conspicuously large bundle of silk fibers he/she was carrying…

"She's righ' tho.' T'woulda been pretty bad, comin' from anyone but her."

"All of my hate…" groaned the frustrated fox.

**~AFT~**

The ceremony took place at dusk several hours after the end of initiation. Long enough for the students to freshen up, or for those injured to be patched up enough to be presentable. A large crowd of students, ranging from the freshly-initiated all the way up to the battle-hardened seniors. Conway and the group of people he was beginning to see as friends were sitting in the third row of seats, just in front of the second-year students. He had managed to patch up the tears in his jacket after the nurse had patched up his arm.

The headmaster began, "Congratulations to all the first year students who managed to pass the initiation ceremony. I am proud of each and every one of you for prevailing against the many obstacles put forth by the Emerald Forest, and it is my utmost pleasure to welcome you all as Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training at our school. This school has a rich history dating back to nearly the time when the Four Kingdoms were formed, and I hope you all feel as privileged to attend it as I do, serving as its Headmaster."

The headmaster shifted his weight to lean more heavily on his silver-handled cane and cleared his throat before he continued, "Now, it is time to officially recognize the first-year teams and their leaders. When I call your name, please come up to the stage."

The crowd of first-year students all stood, waiting for their turn to be called. Most of the groups that had joined together in the forest stood close to each other, especially those with partners that they had been familiar with before the test.

"Amber Mikado, Morgan Kaine, Blaise Noir, and Alban Radley." The named students all stepped out onto the stage. "The four of you retrieved the Black Queen pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team AMBR, led by Amber Mikado. I know you'll bring pride and honor to your family name, young lady."

Amber visibly tensed at the mention of her family name, but still shook the Headmaster's hand in acceptance. Alban walked silently beside her, his blank eyes revealed no hint of what was going on in his mind, while Morgan and Blaise exchanged high-fives, happy to be on the same team. The newly-named Team AMBR vacated the stage while Ozpin called the next four up.

"Tyrian Sparrow, Uintah Oihana, Ianthe Aega, and Taiyo Akairo." Conway watched with mild interest as his four 'acquaintances-friends' took the stage. Uintah seemed to have settled down a bit from her more… excited persona since leaving the forest. Her blue eyes were hooded and still somehow bright, despite nearly being tripped at least twice on her way to the stage. Tai was just as energetic as he always seemed to be, but he was visibly restraining himself from bouncing around as he normally did. Ianthe walked as sedately as any noble woman. Her arms were held loosely at her sides, though her long sleeves hid her hands. Tyrian was the most relaxed of the four, he ambled along with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. Apparently the time between their return from the forest and now had been enough for his Aura to patch up his arm. The stage lights glinted off his glasses as he glanced around the auditorium, presumably memorizing faces and weapons. "The four of you retrieved the White Queen pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team SUIT, led by Tyrian Sparrow."

The named boy graciously accepted the applause of his classmates while Uintah gave an excited cry and clapped with the rest of the crowd, happy for her old friend, brother, and new leader. Ianthe was more restrained in her excitement, only offering a murmured 'congratulations' that was almost lost in the roar of the crowd. Tai, however simply exchanged a fist bump with Tyrian as his way of placing his trust in his new leader, receiving a subtle nod in return. The newly christened Team SUIT made their way off the stage.

"Next, Conway Kieran, River Caeli, Owen Alpine, and Wendelin Match." Conway and his apparent teammates threaded their way through the crowd. River wove around the other students with the grace that Conway was beginning to expect from her. Wendelin had actually climbed onto Owen's broad shoulders, taking advantage of the larger teen's crowd-clearing ability. The ox Faunus was literally pushing other students out of the way, through no real fault of his own, considering his massive stature. Conway simply followed in the giant's wake, murmuring apologies to the disgruntled students they passed. When they finally reached the stage, Ozpin continued.

"The four of you retrieved the White Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CROW, led by Conway Kieran." Conway was so taken aback by Ozpin's declaration of him as the team leader that he nearly missed the Headmaster's parting comment. "I'm sure you'll make your parents proud, and I hope that you discover their identities soon." Ozpin covered the microphone with his hand and whispered, so softly that Conway could barely hear, even with his Semblance. "You are closer to them than you think."

Conway took in a deep, shocked breath while his teammates ushered him off the stage. He felt like his entire world had just tipped on its axis. The headmaster knew who his birth father was? Did that mean that he also knew his birth mother? No… from the way that comment was worded; his mother was both still alive, and someone he was, or would be, familiar with. Conway resolved to ask him as soon as he could, though he doubted he would get any useful information from the experience. The headmaster seemed like the kind of man who delighted in ambiguity.

"Hey, are you alright?" River asked, breaking through his musing and adopting what might've been an expression of concern on an uncovered face.

"You know… I'm not sure."

**~AFT~**

_Author's Note_

_ Fun Fact #30: Uintah's song lyrics are from a children's song called __**My Garden**__. I don't own this song, nor do I claim ownership. _

_ Fun Fact #31: Owen's Semblance was originally going to be Gravity. _

_ Fun Fact #32: I don't know if Aura storage and Semblance use after death are possible in canon, so… yeah. Just roll with it. Please? _

_ Fun Fact #33: The whole story of Terran and Glynda will be told (eventually) [probably later] {Maybe in a short work}. _

_ Fun Fact #34: __Suisei Dageki allegedly means something like Comet Big Strike. _

_Minorly edited a bit of Uintah's dialouge 11/26/2015. _

_Massively edited a lot of the chapter 11/24/2016_


	8. First Day

RWBY: AFT Chapter 8

_Edited again, 4/10, because I made a mistake in the timeline. If you just want to see that, skip ahead to the Conway and Amber scene, towards the end. Hopefully this is the last time I have to edit it. No promises though. Heh. _

_Edited for hopefully the final time on 11/24/16._

First Day

Conway shivered and glanced around in confusion. Where was he? Why was it so dark and cold?

Voices echoed from blurry, indistinct surroundings. Insidious whispers curled like smoke through the still air. No matter how hard he strained his hearing, he couldn't make out what they were saying until one of them spoke with greater volume than the others.

_"Hey, look at the little freak with the fox ears!"_

Conway whirled and reached for his weapons, only to find empty air where his holsters normally hung. Wait… why were his arms so puny? The Faunus glanced down to find himself wearing the clothes he wore when he was much younger, back before he met Ákos, complete with the ragged bandana he still wore on his arm. What was going on?

_"Hey Foxboy, got your tail!"_

Conway yelped in surprise and pain when he felt a sharp tug on his exposed tail. He didn't understand! Where was he?

_"I wonder if those ears are real! Let's find out!"_

Pain shot through his fox ears as he quickly spun again, frantically scanning his shadowy surroundings for his unseen assailants. The intense discomfort continued to build, almost as though someone was _pulling_ on his ears with no intention of letting go anytime soon. More indistinct hands grabbed his tail and pulled on it as well, driving him half mad with pain. The voices of his tormentors quickly blurred together, forming an endless cacophony of jeering and heckling that surrounded him from all sides. One voice stood out for a brief moment.

_"This animal thinks he can be a Huntsman? Why don't we show him what happens to animals who try to be people!"_

"No, don't! Please! Stop!" Conway cried, but the faceless mass merely laughed and continued. A burning pain, different from the tugging, cut through his fox ears. Conway grabbed at them, but recoiled with an agonized cry at the fresh wave of unimaginable pain that erupted when his fingers made contact. He glanced at his hands, only to find them painted with streaks of crimson blood. A similar pain blazed through the base of his spine, but Conway didn't dare touch it. Three objects were tossed in front of him a moment later.

Conway stared in mute horror at the sight of two little golden triangles and a limp gold brush, all with white tips on the dark ground in front of him. He stared, heedless of the streams of warm, sticky liquid that trickled down his neck and legs.

They had cut off his ears and tail.

_"That's better, now he looks like one of us. Welcome aboard, kid."_

Conway's eyes shot open and he jerked bolt upright in his bed, instinctively choking off his horrified scream. He clutched at his chest, trying to calm his racing heart and ragged breathing. His hands both flew to the top of his head and his lower back, releasing a sigh of relief when he found both his ears and tail still firmly attached. His nightclothes, a light, sleeveless shirt and shorts, were soaked through with cold sweat and his covers had been kicked off the bed by his thrashing limbs sometime earlier if the slight chill was anything to go by. The fur on his uncovered tail was in much the same state. The blond teen just sat still for a few moments, listening to the soothing sound of his teammates' soft breathing. Or snoring, in Owen's case.

"What was that…?"

The blond whispered as he ran a hand through his sweat-drenched blond locks. His fingers briefly lingered on the old scar on his left fox ear. At least his teammates hadn't noticed _that_. It could've led to some awkward questions that he really didn't want to answer. Their reactions to his tail alone had been interesting to say the least.

Owen had actually looked a little jealous, while Wendelin had thought it unusual that the blond had both ears and a tail, since most Faunus only had one or the other. River's reaction had been as difficult to read as the girl herself. The fox dreaded the day that Uintah found out. He could just picture her grabbing his tail and never letting go, while exclaiming how 'cuddly' it was, or something equally violating of his personal space. He barely suppressed a shudder.

He wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Conway glanced at the clock on his dresser. The cheerful red digital display that read 4:02 AM was clearly mocking him, he thought with a barely audible growl. With a soft sigh, the fox Faunus got out of bed and used his Semblance to muffle the sound he made when River murmured something indistinguishable and turned onto her other side. Even when she was asleep, his partner still had her eyes covered, this time by a sleeping mask.

Also, how in blue blazes was she able to detect him in her sleep while he had his Semblance active?

The rest of yesterday had been a real whirlwind of activity. Apparently it was considered a rite of passage by the older students to make the newly-initiated students carry their own luggage to the dorms, which, contrary to his fears, did not smell nearly as much as he thought they would. Also, some member of the janitorial staff had retained the presence of mind to remember that most Faunus had more sensitive noses than humans and had left a supply of potent air-freshener in the closet, just in case some of the students could not contain their amorous urges.

Conway silently retrieved a set of exercise clothes from his yet-to-be unpacked bag and tiptoed around the large pile of meticulously clean spare parts of mysterious origin that Wendelin had _somehow_, against all laws of spatial reasoning, managed to fit into their bag. Though the blond was confused as to _why_ exactly the mound of machinery had to sit in the _middle _of their dorm room floor, he wasn't really willing to step on any toes as of yet. He'd give it a week or so, someone else was bound to complain before he did.

Conway went into the attached bathroom and splashed some water on his face and looked into the mirror, hoping in vain that he didn't look as haggard as he felt. He was sorely disappointed. Dark bags were evident under his half-lidded green eyes, and he could see the beginnings of crow's feet forming at their corners. He knew from bitter experience that he wouldn't be getting back to sleep tonight, so he toweled off his hair and tail before wrapping the long appendage around his waist and putting on his exercise clothes and hat.

After exiting the bathroom, he grabbed his Scroll while he crossed the room and opened the window. Somehow, Team CROW had been assigned a room on the second floor of the dorms, instead of the third or fourth floor that younger students were usually relegated to in favor of the older teams, a fact that worked to his advantage now. He cracked open the window just enough to slip through and shut it silently behind him without locking it. There was a line of trees growing next to the windows. That would do. He gathered himself and leapt from the window ledge , grabbing a sturdy tree limb before he fell too far.

Much like a non-Faunus fox, Conway had excellent instincts when it came to climbing trees. With natural grace, he shimmied down the tree with the same ease as a human walks down stairs. Once he touched the ground, he broke into a run. He vaulted obstacles, scaled small walls, and dodged barriers, all without breaking pace. He would often do this when his sleep was disturbed. The habit had caused Wisteria no end of grief when he would stay out for hours, running around Patch in the early morning gloom. That was one thing he had his Faunus heritage to thank for, he supposed as he balanced on a low concrete wall.

Like all vulpine species, Conway had fairly good night vision. He had examined his eyes in a mirror with low light once and discovered that his pupils actually elongated and thinned in low-light conditions, becoming vertical slits like a cat or fox's eyes. Once, Wisteria told him his eyes had a slight glow in pitch-darkness.

Eventually, Conway's route took him close to one of the outdoor sparring rings. Oddly enough, seemed like he wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. Taiyo, dressed in a set of undamaged combat clothes, was currently beating a set of three steel dummies, the kind that most people used for stationary target practice, into dust. The redhead's bare fists slammed against the metal in a brilliant flurry of violence. Taiyo's fists and feet were a blur of never-ending motion as he punched, kicked, and even occasionally head-butted the unyielding steel. His _Shippu Jinrai,_ however, did not adorn his wrists and ankles as it normally did. Instead, the weapons had been carelessly tossed to the side of the ring. From his vantage point, the fox could see several thick lines of discolored skin on the other boy's forearms.

The fox spared a moment to wonder where the other had gotten the scars, not to mention the steel dummies when he stopped a short distance from the martial artist, who apparently didn't notice his presence. That might've had something to do with the fact that Conway had taken great care to muffle the sound of his approach with his Semblance while suppressing his Aura as much as he could after he clambered up the back of the rows of seats. It was a little trick that Ákos had taught him when he was first learning how to use his Semblance, useful for hiding from those especially sensitive to Aura. Maybe it would work on River's Divination too? Conway filed that thought away for later use as his target slowed his furious pace, changing focus from speed to power.

"_Plus Forty-Four Percent!_" Taiyo exclaimed as a small, but _visible_ wave of bright orange Aura surged from his skin and quickly receded back to form a barely visible barrier. His hair gained a few gold streaks, his green eyes gained a slight orange glow, and his lean musculature visibly bulged in reaction to this Aura that clung to him like a second skin.

Conway gazed speculatively with narrowed eyes at the sight of his classmate's Aura shroud. He hadn't been able to observe the fighter's Semblance very closely during Initiation, so this was as good an opportunity as any to see what Taiyo was capable of. What was the mysterious 'Plus Scale' that he had used yesterday? Was it part of his Semblance in particular, or was it something anyone could do? And what language was that? It didn't sound anything like the language most everyone spoke… His attention was called back to reality by the sound of Taiyo yelling with effort just before he lashed out at the steel targets.

"_Sanju no Haki_!"

Three hits and one cry of effort. That was all it took to reduce all three still-intact dummies to tiny fragments.

"Damn. Looks like forty-four is as high as I can go right now, and I'm _still_ pulling my punches." Taiyo said with a wince as he shook out his fists. "That should _not_ have hurt as much as it did. Guess I better try again."

Conway quickly vacated the area after that. A guy who can do that to solid steel with his bare fists was _not_ someone, friend or otherwise, whose bad side he wanted to be on.

Regardless of intent, spying tended to be on the list of things that made enemies. The flutist quietly slipped back over the top edge of the seats and down to the ground, and started running back to the dorms, once again employing his Semblance to move more quietly.

Conway slowed to a stop next to the tree outside their dorm room window just as the sun crested the horizon, and scaled it almost as easily as he climbed down. The blond carefully opened the window and snuck inside, safely wrapped in a shell of sound-dampening Aura to avoid waking his teammates. Conway retrieved one of his uniforms from the communal closet, and went back into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Fifteen minutes in the shower, two towels, and an appropriate amount of blowdrying later, Conway emerged from the bathroom, looking and feeling marginally more alive than he had before his run. His hat was still firmly in place, and his tail sat in its customary place, wrapped around his waist. The clock now read 6:17. He sighed. Great. Still more than two hours to go until classes started for the day.

With a roll of his eyes, Conway set his lamp to its dimmest setting and turned it on. Despite the lower light, it was still more than bright enough to send daggers of pain stabbing into his sensitive eyes. Conway grimaced, but quietly endured the burning discomfort until his eyes adjusted. Once they did, he quickly stripped the sheets from his bed and stuffed them into his hamper for later washing.

After that was done, the flutist retrieved a spare set of sheets from the closet and started putting them on the bed. He figured that the school staff thought that students might want to change their sheets every once in a blue moon. Whatever the reason, he was grateful that he didn't have to sleep on sweat-soaked sheets the next night. He had just finished replacing his blanket when a voice from directly behind him spoke up quietly.

"So how bad was your dream?"

With a strangled yelp, Conway spun in place, his hand reflexively reaching for his weapons. His left hand grasped only air, as he hadn't attached his flute's sheath to his thigh, but his right hand found the balisong tucked into his belt. With a well-practiced motion, he spun the knife open and slashed blindly at the source of the voice.

River ducked under Conway's wild swing and stabbed the underside of his wrist with a quick, two-fingered strike that forced his hand to reflexively unclench. The weapon slipped from his nerveless fingers and clattered to the floor. The sound echoed slightly as the blond stared at his partner with a mix of residual panic and embarrassment on his face.

"Easy there, partner." The blind girl said softly, "You might want to work on that killer instinct you got there, can't just attack anyone who surprises you."

"Sorry, River." Conway gave his partner a weak smile. She was clad in a loose knee-length nightdress made of green silk and a sleeping mask covered her eyes in place of her blindfold. Her hair, which was longer than he had originally thought, was out of its usual braid. She was somewhat disheveled from her recent awakening, but seemed completely alert. It was hard to tell with her eyes covered, by a sleeping mask of all things.

"Don't worry about it." River waved off his apology, and bent to retrieve Conway's knife. When she recovered the weapon, she gave it an experimental spin and closed it before handing it back to its owner. The silence between them lasted a moment before River sat on Conway's bed and patted the spot next to her. Wordlessly, the flutist sat down an arm's length from his partner.

"So, you going to tell me what that was all about? Not that I mind a little sheer terror in the early hours, but I can tell by your scent you've been up for a while." Almost as if she could see her partner's quizzical expression, she continued, "What, did you think I use my Semblance _all _the time?"

"You don't?"

"No, I don't have enough Aura for that. I only had it active for most of yesterday 'cause we were in the middle of a Grimm-infested forest. Most of the time, I get by well enough with my other senses. I have good instincts, I suppose. Comes from being blind most of my life. Also, I don't really have a lot of Aura most of the time." River informed nonchalantly. "But enough about me, what's up with you?"

Conway stared at the red-haired girl warily while suppressing his Aura as best he could anyway. Was he truly willing to trust her? He just met her yesterday, for Dust's sake! Sure she already knew some of his history thanks to that thrice-damned Divination of hers, but that still didn't mean he was going to put his faith in her!

"What do you care?" he snapped, his self-preservation instinct rushingto the front of his mind.

A hurt look flickered across River's face so quickly that he almost missed it. The flutist instantly regretted his response, but before he could even start trying to take it back, his partner turned away.

"Fine. If that's what you want, fine. But we're partners now, so we're stuck together for the next four years. And I meant what I told you yesterday. If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."

Before he could say anything, River stood up and dug a girl's school uniform out of the closet. She carefully skirted the pile of mechanical detritus and stepped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Conway sighed and pressed the back of his hand against his forehead.

"Smooth, Kieran. Tick off one of the few people who actually _wants_ to get to know you. Damnit."

The blond pushed himself off of his bed and gathered his bag from the floor. With another sigh, he began to unpack his belongings, starting with a framed picture of him with Ákos and Wisteria. It had been taken when he was about ten years old, after Ákos had long become a familiar figure at St. Oum's.

Wisteria was standing off to one side, smiling warmly at a grinning Ákos, who was carrying a laughing Conway on his back. His younger self was wearing Ákos' too-large hat and coat, and was hanging on to the taller Faunus' for dear life. That moment, his tenth birthday party, was one of the happiest the fox Faunus could remember. The flutist reverently set the wood-framed picture on his nightstand, where he could easily see it, but turned it away from the door.

A cylindrical object fell out of one of Conway's shirts as he took it out of his suitcase. It was small, maybe about six inches long and a about an inch or so in width. The exterior metal was etched with a detailed effigy of interlocking spirals that wove around its length. Conway picked up the shiny tube and cocked his head to the side curiously.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Conway jolted in surprise again when Wendelin appeared next to him, seemingly out of nowhere. Did he leave his Semblance up again? Despite his surprise, this time he was able, if only barely, to restrain his instinct to go for his weapon. Before the shocked blond could respond, the tiny figure snatched the cylinder from his hand and held it a few inches from his… her (?) goggles and studied it intently.

"I was right! This is a Boost Shot module for a standard PMRW System. It works by containing Dust expelled from a standard Dust round in a spiraling cylinder that increases overall projectile speed and penetrative power! Only a few thousand were ever made, where did you get this?!"

"Uh…I just found it in my bag? Maybe it was a gift…?" Conway said uncertainly. This was almost as bad as Uintah with her plants, or that red-hooded menace with the weapon obsession! The blond could only thank whatever higher power existed that Wendelin's Semblance wasn't Machine, or else they might be like this _all _the time! While the flutist was mentally thanking/cursing whatever deity might be listening, his diminutive teammate continued talking, apparently without noticing their leader not paying attention.

"…not many people still use the PMRWSys, so the modules are even less common now. They're like, really rare collectibles! Where did you even get a working model?"

"…It was also a gift…?" Was the little guy/girl bipolar? They seemed so withdrawn and uncomfortable on the airship… Maybe airsickness?

"Pricey gift… you know how much these can go for?"

"No…?" By Dust, this was getting uncomfortable.

Thankfully the now-awake Owen noticed his leader's discomfort with Wendelin's incessant chattering. The giant ox Faunus rolled out of bed and cracked his neck and spine as loudly as possible, causing the (much) smaller student to lose their train of thought.

"Haah… Morning, Wendy, Leader." Owen greeted as he ran a hand through his blue hair.

"Morning, Owen!" Wendelin chirped, while they replaced the module on Conway's bed.

"Hello. Don't call me leader." Conway ordered while he unpacked the rest of his clothes and put them away in his dresser. He also put the weapon module in his breast pocket. Might as well add it to his weapon later, even if he wasn't sure where it came from.

"Ok, Chief."

"Or that."

"You got it, Captain!" Wendelin said in an annoyingly chipper voice.

Conway sighed. That wasn't going to be a reoccurring thing, was it? Oh who was he kidding? Of course it was.

**~AFT~**

Team CROW got their things unpacked and put away in record time, and were ready for class with plenty of time to spare. Though Conway did privately question why/how Wendelin could take a shower with her/his _Khione Blessing _on, he had a feeling that he probably wouldn't like the answer.

Ignorance, as they say, is bliss.

The team had also gotten the room decorated to their taste, though how River could tell if two colors complimented each other remained a mystery. With Owen's help, they had hung a thick, dark green curtain with a pattern of brass embroidered leaves - provided by River - from the rod above the window, and Wendelin had organized their piles of spare parts into bunches that had then been hung like some kind of bizarre mechanical fruit from the ceiling on their side of the room.

River had somehow turned her corner of the room into a tactile representation of a mossy forest, complete with dark green shag carpet and a rack that held several different canes. Owen put out a flannel patterned blanket and sheet set on his bed, and hung up a few pictures of his family on the walls, using some sharp bits of metal that Wendelin had volunteered. Conway only had his picture, a few books, a battered folder full of sheet music, a few miscellaneous knickknacks, and a half-empty case of common Dust Crystals he stuck in a drawer on his nightstand.

They had also each added their own accessories to their uniforms. River had her blindfold and the wooden ornament in the end of her braid and her headphones around her neck, as well as a pair of black leggings. She carried a simple white cane with a ball on the lower end. Owen opted to wear his own steel-toed boots in place of the academy-issue shoes. Wendelin had simply pulled the uniform on over their bluish-white snowsuit, and Conway had both his scarf and hat. Before he went to sleep the night before, he had taken some time rig up a harness and sheath for Wisteria's _Stinger_ that he wore inside his jacket. He wanted to keep her weapon close, it made him feel like some part of her was watching over him.

It was about 8:30 by the time Team CROW had organized their belongings and gotten dressed for the day. The constituent members all sat on or near their beds as Conway called their first proper team meeting to order.

"Right then. Now that we've all unpacked, our next order of business is…"

"Deciding what we're going to call our leader!" Wendelin interrupted, while they fiddled with an unidentifiable piece of machinery. "I think we should call him Captain."

Owen looked thoughtful. "Nah, we shoul' call 'im… Boss."

River smirked at that statement, but didn't add her input.

"Why is this even an argument?" Conway asked no one in particular. Was his given name not good enough?

Wendelin turned towards the despondent flutist. "Frankly, because your reactions are funny." Their posture gave Conway the impression that the tiny mechanic was giving him a cheeky grin. "Boss."

Conway swiped a hand across his eyes in exasperation. "Fine, whatever. But we really need to talk about…"

"You know, I hate to interrupt, "River broke in, "But I think that class starts soon. Can one of you people that can see confirm that?"

Conway and the others glanced at the clock above the door. Surely enough, the hands had moved to 8:40.

Conway clapped his hands with a slight application of his Semblance to make the sound more crisp. "Right. As I was _trying_ to say," he said with a reproachful glance at Wendelin and Owen, "Our first class of the day is Advanced Aura Studies with Professor C. Greene. It's in room 231, near the library. We should get going."

"Righ,' don' wanna be late fer th' firs' day of class." Owen remarked while he retrieved his Scroll from the bedside table.

**~AFT~**

Team CROW filed in to the large lecture hall with a few seconds to spare. Teams SUIT and AMBR were among the other attendees, along with several other teams that Conway didn't recognize. The room itself was fairly large. It contained four semicircular tiers of benched desks, each with its own individual Scroll dock and keyboard. A large, black screen dominated the front of the room.

Team SUIT was dressed much like their compatriots, with their own unique variations on the standard uniform, some of which would probably gain more than a few raised eyebrows.

Ianthe had somehow obtained a hooded uniform with long sleeves and leggings that left no skin exposed. Conversely, Taiyo had torn the sleeves off of his school shirt and jacket and wrapped his forearms and hands with white only addition Tyrian had made to his uniform was his glasses and a deck of cards he was currently shuffling. Surprisingly, Uintah was the second most ordinarily dressed, with the exception of her lack of shoes, which was evident as the rabbit Faunus was sitting sideways in her seat at the end of the row, and a slightly smaller straw hat. One of her rabbit ears was bent forward in the middle at a ninety degree angle, but it was easy to tell that she was doing it on purpose, as she periodically switched ears.

"Sounds like we got here in time," River said while she took a seat between Wendelin and Owen and leaned her cane against the desk, "Since no one is calling us late, I mean."

"Indeed," A voice from the door to the right of the desk stated, "Another few seconds and I would have been obligated to mark your team as such."

A young woman with spiky brown hair done up in a messy fan and wearing rectangular glasses stepped through the aforementioned door. She was clad in a dark orange knee-length skirt with a black knitted turtleneck sweater under a long white lab coat. From his position towards the front of the class, Conway could see an emblem of three kite-shaped green crystals on the coat's right breast. She was attractive enough, Conway mused, for those that liked the whole 'scientist/researcher' look, but her face was marred by a trio of deep scars that covered most of the left side of her face, the lowest of which started directly between her eyebrows.

"Hello class, my name is Crystal Greene, and I am the Professor of Aura and Semblance Studies here at Beacon Academy. You may call me either Ma'am, Teacher, or Professor. While this is mainly a book and lecture-based class, I expect all of you to pay attention. Any and all distractions…" She trailed off before she threw a small knife at a student who had chosen to watch a video on his Scroll instead of paying attention. It stuck in the wall behind his head with a menacing 'THUNK' which caused the unfortunate student to go stark white and quiver in terror. "Will _not_ be tolerated." Suddenly she smiled and the tension-filled atmosphere vanished. "Understood? Good. Now, let's get down to business."

What was with this school and crazy teachers that would as soon kill you as try to teach you? First, that disputably sane Headmaster with his coffee addiction, his ice-hearted assistant who simply stood by when one of her charges was nearly murdered right in front of her, and now this bipolar knife-thrower? What next? Conway questioned while he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Now then. Who can tell me what Aura is, exactly?"

A few hands went up.

"You, Miss…" she glanced at her class roster, "Mikado."

The named girl stood up and cleared her throat. She was dressed in the standard girl's uniform with the addition of a pair of black leggings and a silver bracelet set with yellow gems on her right wrist.

"Aura is the manifestation of a person's soul. It is what allows us humans to stand on equal ground with the Grimm. It passively increases defensive strength and heals minor injuries. Offensively, when combined with physical stamina, Aura enables the use of an individual's unique abilities, called a Semblance." Amber delivered in a monotone, almost like she was simply reciting information that she had memorized.

"Very good, Miss Mikado, if a bit too restrictive." Professor Greene praised lightly. "Aura is not limited to Humans. Anything that has a soul also possesses the potential to use Aura. This includes Faunus, Humans, and animals."

Professor Greene began to pace across the length of the classroom, pausing every so often to glance at one of the students who looked to be having trouble staying awake. Luckily for Conway's remaining faith in this institute of education, the professor did not find a reason to throw another knife.

"One of the most widely believed facts is that Aura is an indefinite resource. If there is ONE thing you learn from me today, it should be that this so-called fact, is _wrong._ Aura is a _renewable_ resource, but it is far from inexhaustible. Each individual's body has a set amount of Aura that it can hold at any given time, but once that supply is used up, the individual must rest and allow their Aura to replenish before attempting further use, otherwise, they run the risk of complete exhaustion or even, in certain extreme circumstances, such as Burst Mode overuse, death."

That statement caused a palpable wave of unease amongst the students in the room. Like most of his classmates, Conway hadn't known that Aura could be exhausted to that extent. Professor Greene continued.

"Luckily, such cases of Aura exhaustion are quite uncommon, and require great willpower to achieve. Aura can also be stored in mediums outside of its owner's body, but those tend to be either very rare or expensive to make. Certain types of crystals are ideal for Aura storage, but they rarely occur in places that are safe to mine."

The scarred teacher turned to the board behind her desk and wrote one word.

EFFICIENCY.

"The most important concept I can possibly teach you throughout your entire career at Beacon is efficiency. The better you can control your Aura, the longer you can fight in the field, and the better you will be able to survive. To ensure or at least mitigate the possibility of Aura exhaustion, the first part of every class period with me will consist of Aura control exercises."

The scarred teacher held up her left hand. Small sparks of viridian light danced over her open palm.

"This is a basic Aura exercise. I want you to try to summon your Aura into your dominant hand and concentrate it until your Aura becomes visible, then flare it as high as you can and hold it at that level. Keep it as consistent as possible and sustain it. I'll monitor your individual levels of Aura and control. Hop to it!"

Professor Greene's command spurred the class into action. Conway glanced at the rest of the class. Most of them were staring down at their hands with intense focus, while a small few had already managed to make their hands dance with tiny sparks of brilliant light. Tyrian was foremost among this group, his right hand glowed with wisps of royal purple. Uintah, Ianthe, and River also had little trouble, and were respectively producing bright green, lavender, and dark green light. Wendelin and Owen seemed to be having some trouble drawing out their cyan and navy blue Aura, while Taiyo had no problem bringing large amounts of his bright orange Aura to the surface, but seemed to have a hard time maintaining it consistently.

A second glance showed that Team AMBR was in a similar state, with Amber herself producing a slightly dim, but constant yellow glow around her right hand. Morgan, Alban, and Blaise's bronze, gray, and blue Aura, respectively were far brighter, but not nearly as steady.

The fox Faunus began trying to channel his own Aura. He was soon rewarded by a strong silver glow that coated his left hand. It wasn't as unwavering as those held by Amber, Tyrian, and River, but it was much brighter than all three of theirs. However, his silver light paled in comparison to Owen's unsteady navy and Taiyo's wildly flickering bright orange. None of the students even came close to matching Wendelin's barely-controlled cyan in brightness. The Aura contained in their minuscule frame eclipsed even that of Professor Greene's demonstration.

About fifteen minutes later, she called out.

"That's enough, go ahead and relax."

The class breathed a collective sigh of relief as they all lowered their arms. A few students, notably River, Tyrian, and Amber, had already been struggling, while others, like Owen, Morgan, Blaise, Ianthe, Uintah, and Conway were starting to visibly feel the strain. A rare few, including Wendelin, Alban, and Taiyo, looked like they could've kept going for hours.

"You all exceeded my expectations given what I know about each of your individual Aura capacities and control scores. The purpose of this test was to determine your baseline Aura control and output limits, which will be used for the rest of the semester. At the beginning of next semester, we'll do this same test again to measure your growth during your stay here at Beacon. For homework, I want you to do some research on alternative methods of Aura conrtol training and try some of them out. No need to hand anything in, I'll know if you don't practice. Dismissed!"

While the other students fled out through the door, the professor called out.

"Teams SUIT and CROW, please stay."

The rest of the students quickly filed out, but not without Amber shooting another glare at him. Conway gave a slight involuntary shudder. What was that girl's problem? She couldn't possibly still be holding a grudge about the night before Initiation, could she?

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I asked you to stay." The professor stated as she moved to lean against the front of her desk. She scowled suddenly, before she continued, "And I'd be more than happy to explain that to you, if you can tell me where Miss Oihana went."

Taiyo clapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. "Oh dear Dust, not again."

"I take it this happens often?" Greene remarked.

"You wouldn't believe how much, Professor." Tyrian replied, "There was this one time that..."

While the professor was distracted, Conway closed his eyes and discreetly sniffed the air, to try and catch a hint of Uintah's scent. His fellow Faunus' smell was unmistakable among the odors of new clothes, perfume, gunpowder, metal, and oil that hung in the lecture hall like an unseen miasma. Conway blocked those scents out and focused on the unique combination of rabbit, plants, earth, and nature that screamed 'Uintah!' to his nose.

The scent trail lead through the door behind the desk. How had she even gotten in there without being seen? Conway snuck behind the still-distracted professor and opened the door, silencing the squeaky hinge with his Semblance.

Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door, Conway found Uintah in the office. It was a homey room, filled wall to wall with tall shelves full of books and other knickknacks and lit by a large window that overlooked the City of Vale. A large wooden desk that faced the door sat in the middle of the room. Conway's eyes were drawn to a weapon that hung on a wooden frame behind the desk.

Was it the professor's weapon? Delicate carvings and metal inlays decorated the dark wood of the spear's long shaft, leading to a triangular blade of polished steel that sat above a pair of curved barbs. The other end was capped with a several metal disks of the same color. Both ends of the weapon gave off a telltale yellow glow that signified Dust Infusion. He'd have to ask about the spear later if he was feeling brave or suicidal enough to actually ask the knife-thrower about anything not related to class. The weapon was a beautiful example of blending art with function, far beyond the scope of what most Huntsmen preferred for decoration. The words _A. G.'s_ _Dragoon _were engraved on a bronze plaque below the frame.

Conway tore his gaze from the weapon to find Uintah sitting on the carpet beside the desk cradling a little ball cactus in a clay pot. The tiny plant's spikes had completely flattened in response to the rabbit-eared girl's Aura while she gently stroked it.

"Now, now, Mr. Spikely, Uintah knows you're lonely, and your pot isn't big enough, but that's no reason to be rude. Uintah promises that she will talk to the Green Crystal Teacher about it. Okay?"

"Uintah!" Conway called, "Professor Greene wanted to talk to us, come on."

"Oh! Hello, Conway Kieran! Uintah could feel a lonely little piece of Nature in this room during class, and Uintah couldn't just leave him on his own." The rabbit Faunus replied as she stepped over to him "Also, Green Crystal Teacher has good taste in rugs!"

Conway shook his head. "Okay then… How did you even get in here?"

Uintah laughed, the sound was clear and vibrant, like a brook running over smooth pebbles. "Secret!" She replied cheerily.

Of course it was, Conway thought with a roll of his eyes. He pushed the door open, not bothering to muffle it this time and gestured to Uintah that she should walk through. The gardener quickly complied. The fox followed his fellow Faunus back into the classroom and shut the door behind them.

"Hello again, Miss Oihana. Thank you for finding her, Mr. Kieran."

The flutist nodded in acknowledgement while Uintah moved to stand beside Taiyo. "Hello Tai! Did you miss Uintah?"

The professor cleared her throat impatiently and sat down behind her desk.

"Now that Miss Oihana has been found, I'm sure you are all wondering why I asked you to stay after class today," she began, "Your battle against that spider-like Grimm…"

"Uintah named it a Spinnerling!" Uintah interrupted cheerily. After a moment, the professor continued, as if the bubbly rabbit Faunus had not cut her off.

"Right, that. Your battle against the 'Spinnerling,'" She said while lightly glaring at Uintah, whose attention had been recaptured by the cactus she was holding, "Has drawn no small amount of attention to you eight, especially given the unique capabilities it displayed. I personally am interested in your observation of its apparent ability to interfere with Aura. I must give you all a fair warning, Peter Port, the Grimm Studies Professor, will probably accost you all at some point for your recollection of the battle. He is a bit…" The teacher adjusted her glasses, seemingly searching for the right word, "…enthusiastically eccentric, when it comes to the Grimm."

The professor turned to Conway. His grass-green eyes locked with a mismatched pair of ice blue and steel gray orbs. The fox Faunus suppressed a gasp of surprise when he saw that Professor Greene's blue eye, the left one, had a vertical slit for a pupil. She wasn't a Faunus, was she? If so, what kind? If not, then how did she get that eye? No, wait… her scars ran right over the eyelid and down to the middle of her cheek. A transplant?

"Mr. Kieran, I understand it was your strategy that enabled you and your fellow students to defeat the Spinnerling, as Miss Oihana calls it. Is that right?"

"Um, yeah. It was. Professor." Conway answered. He'd been caught off-guard by both the professor's inquiry and her eye. Honestly, he hadn't realized that the battle with the spider Grimm was such a big deal. "But it wouldn't have worked nearly as well if we as partners hadn't fought other Grimm in the forest and gotten a feel for each other's personal styles. I just made suggestions based on what I know about spiders. We got lucky." He demurred. Internally, he was sweating bullets. Why was the second most intimidating teacher after the Assistant Headmistress focusing on him on their first day?

"That aside, you demonstrated remarkable leadership ability for a young man of your background. It is good that you recognize that you had luck on your side, but that doesn't detract from your collective accomplishment. That goes for all of you. You should be proud."

"Heh, Lady Luck smiled on us all right." Tyrian chuckled while he absently flipped a coin, caught it in midair, and flipped it again.

Conway nearly sighed with relief when the professor turned her gaze to Wendelin, who was still sitting at his or her desk, fiddling with a small object.

"Mx. Match, I have been told that you managed to save a fair amount of Spinnerling silk after the creature was destroyed." At the tiny student's answering nod, the professor continued. "I would very much like to examine it if you can spare any."

"Of course, Professor. In fact, you can have this." Wendelin said as they stood up and passed the object, which was revealed to be a scrap of crudely woven silk, that they had been handling a moment ago to their teacher.

"Thank you." Professor Greene glanced at the clock. "I have more questions, but I suspect that if I keep you any longer you will be late for your next class. You should expect your other professors to ask about the Spinnerling as well. I will send a note to Professor Peach. Run along now. You don't want to be late, do you?"

The two teams turned to leave before the professor cleared her throat.

"One last thing… Miss Oihana, is that my cactus?"

"Yes he is, Green Crystal Teacher! His name is Mr. Spikely!" the bubbly rabbit Faunus chirped happily.

"Be that as it may, Miss Oihana, I would like him back now." Professor Greene stated, extending a hand toward the rabbit girl. Surprisingly, Uintah handed the cactus over without any fuss. Knowing as little about the rabbit girl as he did, he would have thought she would fight to hang onto a piece of Nature in this environment relatively devoid of it.

"Okay! He says that he is lonely, and also, he wants a bigger pot."

The Professor chuckled at Uintah's parting comment and called back, "I'll take it under consideration, Miss Oihana." She glanced at the newly named 'Mr. Spikely,' "Is it just me, or are you bigger than you were yesterday?"

The scarred woman quickly wrote up a note to excuse their probable tardiness to their next class and handed it to Tyrian. "Here. Thank you for satisfying my curiosity and providing me with a sample of this fascinating material."

**~AFT~**

"It's a good thing she wrote us that note, or else we'd have gotten in trouble." River stated, twirling her cane between her fingers, after they left Professor Port's Grimm Studies class. Conway nodded in agreement while Owen grunted something unintelligible that _sounded_ affirmative.

"I can't believe that Schnee girl had so much trouble with an immature Boarbatusk though…" Conway mused. Or that the white-clad girl he had first seen nearly blow up the airship port was the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. That had also been a surprise.

"Well, not all of us are fortunate enough to get a Semblance that can break Grimm armor with ease, Boss."

"I wouldn't call it fortunate, or easy…" The flutist muttered under his breath. He had forgotten that his blind teammate had hearing almost as acute as his own, which - for a human - was very impressive.

"What else would you call it, Boss? I know a lot of people who would kill for a Semblance like yours."

That offhanded comment was enough to cause the blond to clam up. Unlike many of his fellow students, Conway knew _exactly_ why his Semblance had manifested in the way it had, and unlike most people, he took no pleasure in reliving the memory. The sheer terror and helpless anger of that moment still haunted his nightmares.

Conway stepped up his pace, leaving the rest of his team behind.

"What's eatin' him?" Owen asked as the blond fled around a corner and out of sight.

River frowned. "I don't know, which is unusual for me…" Had Conway found a way to mask his Aura from her Divination? That was… unexpected. It wasn't as if she was trying to use her Semblance to find out secrets willfully, that was simply a side-effect of her only way to see.

"You think we should we go after him?" Wendelin piped up from their perch on Owen's shoulders. River turned to face her other teammates. Wendelin's cyan Aura contrasted sharply with Owen's navy color. A surge of images from her teammates flooded her limited vision, but they were too disjointed to make sense of, so she willfully ignored them. It frustrated her to no end that she could only make out hazy, vaguely person-shaped matrices of color with flashes of surface memories instead of proper sight, but she supposed she couldn't complain.

It was that, or total darkness.

River shuddered slightly before she ruthlessly squashed the niggling sensation of fear that had wormed its way through her heart at the thought of being trapped in the dark. Those days were over and done, banished by the awakening of her Semblance.

"No, let him be." If her partner wanted to refuse her help, then he could deal with his problems on his own. "Who knows what his problem is..."

"If you're sure…" Wendelin said uncertainly. The pint-sized ice-wielder slipped off of Owen's shoulders with a sigh. "If we're splitting up, then I'm going to head down to the Sci-Tech labs. Word on the street is that Beacon has some of the best new tech on the block for students to test out. I'll be back at the dorm later!" They called back over their shoulder while they walked.

River and Owen briefly watched their teammate move down the hallway. The pair stood silent for a moment, before Owen's Scroll chimed. The ox Faunus checked the device, which looked ridiculously small in his large hands.

"Looks li' there's a package waitin' fer me in th' mail room. Ah should probably go get it…"

"All right, Owen. Just don't forget the homework. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask." River replied, before she added, under her breath, "Unlike our esteemed leader…"

Owen gave no sign that he heard her as he ambled off down the same hallway their tiny companion had traversed moments before.

River drew in a deep breath and released an explosive sigh before she leaned against nearby wall and slid down to sit. She pressed the back of her wrist to her forehead, trying to stem the oncoming headache.

Why wouldn't her partner let her help him?

"I was just trying to help… Stupid Semblance…"

The blindfolded girl was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the approaching footsteps until she felt the pointed tip of a high-heeled shoe gently nudge her ankle.

"Miss Caeli, the hallways are no place for sitting."

River glanced up to see the imposing figure of Professor Glynda Goodwitch standing over her with a stern impression on her face. The effort was somewhat wasted because all River could see of her with as little Aura she had at her disposal was a vaguely human-shaped outline of bright violet light standing a few feet from her.

"Perhaps you'd like to tell me what you are doing sitting the hallway when there is a perfectly good study room not even two corridors away?"

River rolled her eyes, thankful that her blindfold precluded the teacher from seeing the exasperated expression on her face. Really? This was only the first day of classes, how was she supposed to know where anything was? Not to mention the obvious fact that she was -mostly- _blind_!

"This seemed like a good place to take a bit of a rest, Professor."

"Well, where are your teammates? Shouldn't they still be around here somewhere?"

"Owen had a package waiting in the mail room, Wendel went to the Sci-Tech wing, and I really don't know where Conway went…"

River took note of how the professor's tightly reigned Aura seemed to flicker when she mentioned her leader.

"Ah, yes… him. I will be honest, he wasn't my first choice for leader of Team CROW." The violet outline expanded and contracted with a sigh, "You shouldn't expect too much from him. He has a history of being… shall we say, _unreliable_, not unlike certain… _other_ members of his species."

River cocked her head slightly. What was the professor saying? Scratch that, why was she implying that her leader was unfit for his position? The blind girl climbed to her feet and retrieved her cane. She focused her Divination on the professor's Aura, expecting the rush of clarity and glimpses of thoughts that always accompanied her focus.

They never came.

When River tried to Divine deeper, past the outer shell of bright violet light, she felt her Aura-enhanced sight simply… _slide_ around the professor's Aura. Instead of memories, all she got was a vague impression of sternness and disapproval. The result was the same, no matter how much of her limited supply of Aura she used. She was soon forced to stop her Semblance use by the slight feeling of tiredness that came with Aura overuse. She couldn't have used _that_ much Aura yet, could she? Unless it was more taxing to use for entire class periods than she thought.

Could the professor have some kind of Aura-masking ability? Come to think of it, she didn't get much information off of _any _of the professors, not even the long-winded Professor Port. The only thing she knew they had in common were the fact that they were all greatly experienced. Maybe highly controlled Aura blocked her Divination?

Something told the blind girl that she'd better make her exit before Goodwitch noticed her illicit attempt at reading her Aura.

"Well, thanks for the warning, Professor, but I'd better be moving on. I have some…"She grasped for an excuse, "Homework that needs doing, and all that..."

"Then you'd best get to it, Miss Caeli. Remember what I told you."

"Right…"

River hurried off, fully aware of the professor's gaze on her back until she rounded a corner. That had been… weird. What was Goodwitch trying to tell her? River shrugged. At least she shouldn't need her Semblance for now. She had used too much Aura back in class and just now trying to read the Professor, and now she couldn't use it until her Aura regenerated.

River was broken from her distracted musings by a sharp shove to her lower back that sent her sprawling to the carpeted floor. Her cane fell from her grasp and clattered off some distance down the hall, aided by a rough nudge from her assailant's foot. She groped around, blindly searching for her cane for a moment before she was viciously kicked in the belly. Her breath was expelled with a loud whoosh as she unceremoniously dropped face down on the floor, clutching at her aching midsection.

While River gasped in pain and tried desperately to refill her lungs, her tormentor spoke. His voice was deep and rough, probably a young man trying to disguise his voice.

"That should teach you to walk around this school like you own the place, blindy! I don't know what the Headmaster was thinking, allowing a cripple like you to even _think_ about coming to Beacon!"

With that parting shot, and a last kick to her ribs that River was too winded to avoid, her assailant strode off down the carpeted hallway, leaving her to struggle for breath like a landed fish. The irony of her situation was not lost on the blindfolded girl as she frantically pawed at the ground, searching for her cane.

A blind girl, searching blindly. It might've been funny if her ribs didn't hurt so much.

River froze as another set of footsteps rounded the nearest corner. She let out a grateful and relieved sigh when she recognized the person's voice. True, it was possibly the strictest-sounding teacher she had ever personally met, but at least it was someone she was familiar with.

"Miss Caeli, are you alright? What happened here?"

River coughed as she briefly used her Semblance and saw a familiar green spiky-looking outline crouched over her. The blind girl coughed again and frowned at the metallic tang of blood on her tongue as Professor Greene helped her to her feet. River leaned heavily against a nearby wall with one arm wrapped around her midsection.

"Some guy knocked me over and kicked me a couple of times." Amazing that even through the pain, she managed to maintain a small piece of her dignity. "I think he was upset that I got in to this school despite my blindness." She grimaced. "At least, that's what he said. Can you see my cane anywhere, Professor? I dropped it."

The spiky-haired woman quickly found the cane a fair distance down the hall, where it had apparently rolled and returned it to its owner's hand. River grimaced when her cane was returned to her. The feeling of her own Aura trying to heal her when she had already used most of her current reserve was not a pleasant one.

"You used too much Aura earlier, didn't you?" At River's unsteady nod, the professor sighed and focused a bit of her Aura into her hand causing her fingertips to glow with a calming green light. "This might feel a bit strange, but please bear with me. I am going to share a bit of my Aura with you to enhance your Aura regeneration. I will need to touch you, is that alright? Or would you prefer to go to the infirmary?"

"A-Alright… thanks for the warning." River replied faintly.

Professor Greene gently touched her fingertips to the center of River's forehead. The tension bled out of the redhead's body as the teacher's Aura kick-started her own and bolstered her reserves. Cool energy that felt like a calming breeze rippled through her body, rapidly healing her bruises and minor injuries. River sighed with relief when it no longer hurt to breathe.

With no small amount of reluctance and a helping hand from the teacher, the blind girl pushed herself off of the wall and stood marginally straighter.

"Thank you, Professor." River said gratefully, "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't shown up."

"You are welcome. Just, please try not to make a habit of being accosted in the hallways, and if the bruises don't clear up within the next day or so, go see the nurse. Next time, use that cane to defend yourself. I _know_ you can."

"I'll try not to get caught off-guard next time." River assured with her lips twisted into a grin.

"So, Miss Caeli, care to tell me where your team is?"

"They had…" the blind-girl hesitated, "Other things to do. Conway ran off, Owen went to retrieve a package from the mail room, and last I heard, Wendel is in the Sci-Tech wing."

The spiky-haired teacher sighed.

"Would you like me to have a talk with them?"

River raised a delicate eyebrow. What did this teacher care about her problems? No one else had ever given the 'creepy blind girl' the time of day at her first school, which was probably why her parents had elected to have her taught at home, so why now? The comparison between this situation and her aborted chat with Conway that morning barely occurred to her.

Almost as if the teacher could sense River's suspicion, she continued. "As this is Team CROW's first year here, learning to work together well is paramount, especially in these early days. If your teammates leave you behind again, please come find me, and I will talk to them about it."

River nodded in understanding, before a thought occurred. "Thank you, Professor… but how can we work together if we can't even stick together after class?"

"No team synchronizes perfectly at first. You will have to be patient with your teammates, especially that leader of yours. As you probably know, Faunus always have certain traits normally attributed to the animals whose traits they share. For example, your teammate Owen has a history of being both strong and reliable, though prone to outbursts of violent behavior when in pain. Your leader, on the other hand, is rather skittish around people and extremely slow to trust, much like a…"

"Fox." River finished.

"Exactly." Greene affirmed.

"So how am I supposed to get him to open up? At least enough to work with the rest of us?" The blind girl enquired.

"I would start with not using your Semblance on or near him." Greene cut off River's impending protest with a sharp gesture. "No. You know full well that your ability tends to make you appear untrustworthy to others. If you are serious about this, you will need to meet him halfway. Show him that you are worthy of his trust, and he will probably let you in."

Professor Greene leaned closer and spoke more softly.

"He is a very lonely boy, River. Much like you, he had a difficult childhood, without much in the way of people he could fully rely on. It is very likely that he does not understand that not everyone is out to get him. He doesn't know that he can trust people, humans especially. Society did him no favors in that regard."

The teacher continued, "As much as I dislike the comparison, a Faunus that is suddenly uprooted from a place that they are accustomed to will react almost like an animal that experiences a similar event. It will take him time to become comfortable with his new surroundings, and even more time to trust you and your other teammates."

Her tone was… strange. The ways she spoke was almost… regretful? But why would a teacher have such feelings about a student they just met? River risked a brief glance with her Semblance, but she received no information besides a vague sense of regret that was quickly swallowed up by the teacher's Aura. There was something off about her left eye though. It glowed faintly gray, instead of the healthy and vibrant viridian green like the rest of her body.

It took all of River's self-control to suppress her gasp of surprise, she had never before encountered someone with two different Aura colors before, and had always assumed that every person only had one.

"I… I'll try, Professor. But what if I mess up? What if none of them want anything to do with me?" the redhead asked while she turned off her Semblance. Even using it as briefly as she had was enough to make her feel guilty.

"I think they will surprise you, River. Just give them the same chance you want them to give you."

River turned to leave, but looked back over her shoulder at her teacher. "Professor?" she asked, when the teacher turned back to her, she continued. "How do you know about my Semblance?"

"Several ways." The teacher replied, "First, it is noted in your files, and second…" she tapped her right temple knowingly, "You aren't the only one with a Semblance based in perception. Run along now, and do try to stay with your team, Miss Caeli. I won't always be there to patch you up. And try not to use any more Aura today. Aura sharing only works to temporarily boost Aura recharge. You should take it easy for a while."

River blushed at the obvious first answer, then nodded and departed, leaving the bemused professor behind.

**~AFT~**

Owen quickly found his way to the mail room, thanks to the signs that some blessed genius had put up years ago. Really, without those, navigating the school would be so much harder. Owen truly felt sorry for River, despite her increased perception.

"Ah guess ah'll jus' have ta help her then." The giant remarked to himself. He did not even realize the irony of his statement, as he ambled his way into the empty mail room, ducking under the too-low door with barely a thought. The counter was staffed by a lone humanoid robot and a Holographic Mailing Assistant, who was being projected as sitting down behind the counter.

"Hello! How may I help you today?" Owen disliked the robotic cheerful voice of the hologram. It reminded him of all the falsely kind students he had dealt with throughout his earlier school days.

"Name's Owen Alpine," He replied gruffly, before he forcefully reigned in his temper before it fed his Semblance too much. He had learned emotional control the hard way, after causing tremendous damage to his old school in the throes of his Rampage. "Ah got a message, said Ah had a package waitin' fer me here."

"Yes you do. We received a package from one 'Edelweiss Alpine' late yesterday. Shall I get it retrieved?"

"Yea, please." Owen replied. The Faunus remembered to mind his manners. What would his Ma say if she knew he'd been rude, even if it was to a machine?

"Splendid! We'll get right on it." The hologram replied cheerily while the robot trundled into the back room. Before the door swung closed, Owen caught a glimpse of bare metal shelves, mostly empty of packages. The Faunus tapped his foot in a simple rhythm while he waited for his package. That was the other problem with the holographic staffers, as they were called. They might be efficient at the jobs, but they were terrible for conversation.

The robot soon returned. Its loud, clanking footsteps announced its presence to Owen's sharp hearing moments before it pushed aside the door. It was carrying a plain cardboard box that had been wrapped with several layers of packing tape and a few stickers that read 'Caution, this end up' pointing in opposing directions. The Faunus let out a deep chuckle. That was his Ma's handiwork alright. She was a sweet woman, but sometimes got a little overzealous.

Owen took the box over to a counter off to the side of the mail room. He easily split the tape that held the box lid closed with his pocket knife and opened the container. Inside, resting atop many layers of bubble wrap was a small note that read, _'Ya'll forgot this. Yer Da wanted you to have it. Try not to leave it behind next time, Blu,'_ in his mother's distinctive loopy handwriting.

Owen tucked the note into his shirt pocket before he pulled the bundle of packaging out of the box, carelessly tossing the empty container at the large box in the corner marked 'RECYCLING.' He carefully placed the bundle on the counter and peeled back layer after layer of packaging. He whistled lowly. Ma had _really _gone overboard with the wrapping on this, but if it was what he suspected, then she probably had the right idea.

The blue-haired giant quickly stripped the layers of packaging from the object with a widening grin as the contents were exposed. A simple, pump-action shotgun with a shorter than average barrel crafted of blued steel with a stock and grip made of dark red wood lay revealed on the bed of packaging. The handle was wrapped with strips of dyed dark blue leather. Engraved on the stock in elegant script were the words _Blue Rouge_.

Below the gun were several boxes of different shells and a rifle sheath with a shoulder strap. The rifle sheath's strap had ten slots for shells positioned at mid chest, just enough to fully reload the weapon once. The Faunus easily slipped the familiar sheath across his body, a soft smile played across his lips as he recalled long afternoons learning how to shoot with his siblings before Da got sick…

Owen smiled and reverently picked up the venerable weapon. He ran his hands along its smooth, well-worn surface, taking in the familiar feel of lacquered wood and cold steel. Leave it to Ma to send him Da's old shotgun. He had always loved this weapon, ever since he first laid eyes on it hanging above the mantle. It was the first gun he had ever used, under the careful supervision of his big sister, Nevada.

Owen's trip down memory lane was interrupted as _Blue Rouge_ was suddenly snatched from his hands.

"Woah. This is a _nice_ lookin' gun you got here."

The blue-haired giant turned to see a red-haired, amethyst-eyed boy with an appreciative grin on his face _holding_ _his Da's gun_. The Faunus' eyes narrowed. This was the same guy who had been giving Uintah trouble on the airship! The boy in question, Morgan, had begun to indelicately examine _Blue Rouge_, turning the venerable weapon this way and that in his hands. Owen growled deep in his chest at the thought (and sight) of his father's weapon being handled by someone he _knew_ was a Faunus-hater. His careful grip on his untamable Semblance slipped a little bit more with every second the purple-eyed boy had his grubby little mitts on _Blue Rouge_.

"'Scuse me, but that's mah gun yeh've seemed ta have confused wi' o' yers. Ah'd be mighty grateful if yeh give it back." Owen remarked with a hint of threat in his voice.

Morgan looked up at the giant Faunus. Brown eyes locked with purple, and he immediately felt the urge to back down, almost as if he were in the presence of a deadly predator. Owen mentally cursed his animal instincts and the urges they forced on him. Something about this guy felt dangerous. Owen couldn't quite put his finger on _what_ exactly it was, but it was enough to set his instincts screaming.

"Oh, I'm _sorry_," the purple-eyed boy sneered, "I thought that Beacon had started employing _animals_ for cheap labor. Obviously I was wrong…" He rested _Blue Rouge _on his right shoulder, "Anyway, where did you even get a piece like this? Must've been expensive."

Owen nearly lost control of his Semblance right then and there, despite his instinct's warnings. How _dare_ this boy talk to him like that!

The Faunus' building anger did not go unnoticed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I touch a nerve?"

Owen choked down a growl as his muscles began to swell in response to his anger-fed Semblance. His normally kind brown eyes became bloodshot, and his pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. A red haze built up in his vision, the Semblance he always tried so hard to control urged him to exact revenge on this puny human who _dared_ take something that belonged to his father.

"Oh my, so scary!" The smaller boy mocked as he hefted the gun again. "Tell you what, ox-boy, you walk away, right now, and I won't find an excuse to use this thing."

The blue-haired giant almost lunged for the smaller boy, but before he could commit himself fully to the action, another student shoved the door open and grabbed _Blue Rouge_ out of Morgan's slack grip. Through the red haze, Owen recognized the leader of Team SUIT, Tyrian, capitalize on Morgan's shock to give him a firm shove to the chest which nearly knocked him over.

"Hey!" the purple-eyed boy indignantly yelled when he regained his footing, "What the hell, man? I was just havin' a little fun with the animal over here, no need to get violent! I wasn't bothering anyone!"

"Looks to me like you were bothering my friend here," Tyrian shot back. His voice was dangerously even, but his posture reminded Owen of a coiled spring. Visibly tense and ready to release at any moment. "So why don't you do us all a favor, and take a walk? Anywhere but here will do."

Morgan visibly bit back a snarl as Tyrian moved in front of Owen. Perhaps sensing that any further provocation would be poorly received at best, the redhead decided to cut his losses now that the odds were against him.

"I'll remember this," He growled as he slapped Tyrian's had away from his chest. "Both of you had better keep your eyes open."

"Good. That will save me from having to do it again. Beat it."

Morgan kicked the door open and stormed off, muttering darkly the whole way.

Tyrian pushed his glasses further up his nose and turned to Owen. "Feh. Good riddance to bad people, I guess. Here," He remarked, as he proffered _Blue Rouge _to its owner. "I think this is yours?"

Owen let out the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. His eyes and muscles quickly returned to their normal state now that the infuriating student was gone.

"Thanks, Tyr," The giant said as he took the gun from the black-haired boy and slid it into the sheath. "If'n yeh had'n shown up, tha mighta gotten a bit… messy. What were yeh doin' here anyway?"

"I have a package of my own to pick up," Tyrian admitted as he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Seems my sister found out I took the _Fortuna_ pistols without my parent's permission, and, seeing as they are prototypes, she sent along… something to keep an eye on them and me."

The robot set another, smaller package on the counter near Tyrian. He took the box and carefully opened it, almost like he expected a snake to jump out at him. When he unfolded the lid, both he and Owen were blinded by a bright flash of viridian light. Owen threw up a hand to shield his eyes.

"Greetings." A cool, electronic voice said. Owen spared a moment to wonder who that was. It certainly didn't sound like that annoying holographic assistant, and Tyrian had no need to extend greetings.

"Damnit Cery…" Owen heard Tyrian mutter under his breath. "What did I do to deserve this one?"

"Oi, Tyr," Owen started as his eyes cleared. "Ah've got two questions fer yeh. Firs', hoo's tha there tiny green girl? An' second, what is she?"

"I'm sure she'll tell us, big guy." The annoyed Tyrian replied. A small figure made of green light, maybe eight inches tall floated above the box, which Owen could now see contained a tiny rectangular computer chip. It was unlike any other chip he had ever seen though he could tell that it was designed to easily attach to a Scroll. It was made of a dark grey metal with a miniscule crystal carved into the shape of an eight-spoked wheel embedded in the center. This crystal glowed with a bright green light that coalesced into the figure floating above the chip.

"I am an AI Unit affiliated with Sparrow Electronics." The, admittedly pretty, hologram-lady started, "My model number is FG-3468741b. Designation: _Fortuna_. My purpose, as mandated by Mistress Ceres Sparrow, is, and I quote, 'To keep an eye on Mistress Ceres' sticky-fingered little brother and make sure he stays out of trouble, legal or otherwise, insofar as I am able.' Concerning my appearance, this is my digital avatar, it is hard coded into my matrices and cannot be changed without Origin-Level clearance. Additionally, I have been mandated to maintain…"

"Fortuna, Command: Override. Shut down. Authorization Sparrow zero dash four. Passkey one-seven-four-three-two-eight." Tyrian barked.

"Complying." Was the digital avatar's immediate reply just before she powered down.

"In other words," Tyrian began, "My sister sent her to keep an eye on me." He sighed and picked up the chip. "At least it shows that she cares, in her own way." He finished as he picked up the chip and slipped it into his pocket. "Sorry about that."

" 'S fine." Owen shrugged. Tiny green computer ladies? Fine, whatever. Not the strangest thing he had ever seen. No, that privilege would have to go to some of the shenanigans his older siblings got themselves into back when they were younger.

"Hey, you want to go see Win? I heard she talked Professor Peach into letting her use one of the empty greenhouses."

Owen tapped his chin. On one hand, he could go and make friends with another team, but on the other, that would mean leaving his team to their own devices for a while longer.

"Yeh, sure, Ah'd like to see the lil' rabbit again. She seemed nice."

His team could wait a while longer, right?

**~AFT~**

Wendelin huffed in annoyance. They had finally found the Sci-Tech wing, only to find that all of the workspaces had been designed for people noticeably taller than them. Not that they had expected anything else. Even back at home, they had needed to drag stepstools around to accommodate their rather… lacking… height. Heck, they were somewhat begrudgingly grateful that they could see the countertop at all. Granted, it was just at eye level, but still!

They dearly wished that they had the control necessary to simply make step ladders of their own, but then they realized that they would make few friends in the labs if they constantly left puddles and half-melted bits of ice lying around.

"I don't have to stand here and-!" A deep voice, probably a lab technician, sounded from one of the smaller rooms off to their right. Wendelin cocked their head curiously. Whatever the commotion was, it sounded interesting.

"Then leave. It doesn't matter to me. " A cool voice cut though the deeper voice's tirade like a knife.

"Whatever kid, I'm out of here! And good luck finding anyone else around here who has _any_ idea how to work a fifth generation nerve-chip interface!"

Wendelin perked up at the mention of the older technology. The fifth-gens were good, but the true cutting-edge tech was the new sixth gen. Even they, consummate tech-head that they were, had only managed to play around with the samples they had… procured through methods of dubious legality, for a few weeks before coming to Beacon.

"Brilliant, Blaise. Just brilliant… Tick off the one person here who had any idea how to work that tech… Oh well. Guess I'll have to learn by trial and error like always." The cool voice, Blaise, Wendelin figured, lamented with a sigh.

Gathering their courage, Wendelin rounded the corner and caught sight of a short (but still a fair bit taller than them, they noted darkly) and skinny young man with long black hair who was wearing a standard student uniform and a pair of round-lensed sunglasses.

"Uh…Hey?" Wendelin grimaced. That was easily the _least_ cool thing they could've said as an icebreaker, but it was the only thing that came to mind at that moment.

"Unless you can tell me honestly that you know anything about computer-nerve interfacing as it relates to mechanical limbs fifteen seconds or less, I'd appreciate it if you left me alone."

Wendelin was taken aback at Blaise's blunt and somewhat hurtful 'greeting.' Did that guy even _want_ anyone to help him? Judging from the spastic way the skinny boy was tapping his foot, they'd guess not. Was that the sound of tiny hydraulics they heard?

"For starters…" Wendelin glanced at the countertop, more specifically at the half completed shell of what _looked_ like a robot's left arm sitting in a welding harness. It was the work of a second to thumb the tiny switch on the scanner in their goggles, and only four more before they identified several problems. They took a deep breath, willing the nervousness they normally felt around other people away. This was what they were good at, so they might as well try to sound confident about it!

"You're using an outdated Shock Dust Coil as a power source instead of a power cell, which have more standardized energy output, instead of the cycles the Shock Dust tends to go through, parts of the casing are made of an inferior alloy, the power regulator in the wrist is almost worn out, and the joints could use a bit less tightening."

Wendelin made a show of tapping their chin under the mask. "Oh, and concerning the nerve-chip interface, the firmware on the fifth-gen control chip currently installed in the upper arm is a little finicky, and should be upgraded to the new sixth-gen chip, which eliminated those issues, as soon as possible." They stared up at the taller boy, feeling uncharacteristically proud of themselves.

Blaise had an appreciative smirk on his face as he extended his hand. "Not bad, kid. I'm Blaise Noir of Team AMBR, what's your name?"

Wendelin firmly took Blaise's larger hand in their own and gave it a shake. "I'm Wendelin Match, Team CROW, and the same age as you. Nice to meet'cha."

**~AFT~**

Conway finally stopped to catch his breath on a mostly empty rooftop a fair distance from where he had left his teammates. The blond slammed a fist against a nearby air conditioning unit in anger. Why had Wendelin's offhand question affected him so badly? Come to think of it, why had Ozpin even made him the leader of this team? He had little idea how to deal with people in general, let alone how to lead anyone!

Sometimes he wondered why he even tried. Unbidden, an image of Ákos leapt to the forefront of his mind. The falcon Faunus had a disapproving expression on his usually amicable features. Conway didn't like that look. He had been on the receiving end of it a few times when he was younger, and even now it retained the ability to make him feel less than two feet tall.

"That's right…" He said softly. His fists unclenched as he let out a sigh. "I can't let him down. Either of them."

The flutist was distracted from his thoughts by his Scroll ringing. He drew the device from his pocket, pulled it open, and tapped the CALL button without looking at the caller ID. After all, only a few people had his number.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Conway!" Came the cheerful voice of Wisteria Vero, accompanied by a small video link. One of the many advantages to living close to a CCT relay station, like the one on Patch Island, was that most phone calls came with the option of video chat. He tapped the icon and the video feed cut to an shot of St. Oum's living room, where a visibly pregnant Wisteria, wearing a fetching green maternity dress, was reclined on one of the battered couches. Her rarely-used cane leaned against the arm of the couch. Conway gave a sympathetic wince. Her leg must be bothering her more than usual. She and Ákos had finally, with some prompting by their friends, gotten married two years ago. Wisteria had been hesitant, since she believed she could no longer have children due to an old injury she'd taken when her leg was crippled, but Ákos hadn't cared about that. It had been quite a surprise when she had gone to a doctor about persistent vomiting in the mornings only to receive the good news.

Conway still didn't know how he felt about it. On the one hand, he was happy that the two people who essentially raised him had gotten together, but… What would happen to him now that they were expecting a child of their own? Ákos tried to convince Wisteria to leave St. Oum's and move in with him upon learning that she was pregnant with his child, but Wisteria had refused to entrust the children in her care to anyone else.

"M-" Conway caught himself. "Wisteria? Why are you calling me? And how did you know I wasn't in class?"

"Did you forget that I get copies of your class schedule?" The deer Faunus chided with a smile. Conway breathed a brief sigh of relief. At least she hadn't heard his near-slip. "I knew that you would be free right around now, and I wanted to see how you were settling in at my old school. You didn't call after Initiation, so I was worried."

Dust. In all the hubbub after Initiation and the Team Naming ceremony, he'd forgotten to call. Wisteria abruptly switched moods from gentle concern to exuberant curiosity. Conway wondered if it was because of the pregnancy and hormonal imbalance. Whatever that meant, he thought with a barely-restrained roll of his eyes.

"Tell me everything! How were your classes today? Are any of your teachers nice? Is that old scoundrel Port still teaching Grimm Studies?"

"Yeah, he's still here," Conway chuckled, "He tried to hit on a blonde girl in my class earlier, too."

Wisteria let out a clear, bell-like laugh. "Yes, he did that in my first class there, too, only it was my friend and upperclassman Riley he targeted. Ha, he came to regret that later, because she was a bit of a prankster. Remind me to tell you about her later. Donovan, her team leader, could never stand it when she was on one of her pranking sprees, but Jasper and my friend Astrid always thought they were great fun." She sighed, "Ah, those guys were good friends back in the day…" She trailed off, only to snap back to the present a moment later, "So… tell me about your teammates!"

And there was the exuberant Faunus he remembered from his childhood.

"We're called Team CROW. My teammates are a blind girl named River Caeli, a giant of an ox Faunus named Owen Alpine, and a third really short person named Wendelin Match."

"Person? Are they a boy or a girl?" Wisteria asked in confusion.

"None of us are really sure, to be honest. Didn't seem polite to ask." Conway replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm team leader by the way." He quietly added under his breath, "And they already know I'm a Faunus." Conway quickly jerked the Scroll away from his face when Wisteria gave an exuberant squeal of excitement.

He thought gone deaf for a moment until his ears stopped ringing.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, Conway!"

"Geez, did you have to do that right in my ear?" He groused while rubbing his head to alleviate the ringing.

It was almost comical to watch the five-months-pregnant deer Faunus try (and fail) to contain her excitement on his behalf.

"Actually Wisteria… There was something I wanted to ask you." Conway admitted quietly, cutting off Wisteria's stream of happy chatter.

"Huh? What is it?"

"How can I be a good leader for my team?"

The deer Faunus was silent for a moment before she responded. "Hm. Well, that largely depends on what kind of leader you want to be." The deer settled herself more deeply into the couch, giving a slight groan as she adjusted her leg, before she continued. "Riley's leader, Donovan, always had this…presence about him. It's very hard to describe, but if I had to, I'd say he felt… intense. He was quite a fearsome man, and I'm not ashamed to say that he scared me, my partner Crystal, and Riley out of our wits more than once. He had that effect on a lot of people, come to think of it…" She trailed off again, as though she was remembering something else.

"Of course, my own team leader, Evergreen, was a fine leader in her own right, but my teammates and I never really required too much in the way of leadership besides who was in charge in the field…" She gave him a calculating stare for a brief moment, "I don't think that's the kind of leader you want to be though. You're more reserved than Donovan was. Kinder too. And your team sounds like they'll require a bit of work to get along with each other, so Evergreen's approach won't work as well for you. I think you should just try to be friendly towards them, and see where that takes you."

"But every time I've tried that before…" Conway tried to argue before Wisteria cut him off.

"I know you're kinda… standoffish… when it comes to people, and that reaching out hasn't really worked out well for you before, but please, just trust me on this one, Conway. I think you'll be surprised, in a good way."

Conway contemplated Wisteria's plea for a moment. Was he willing or able to raise his hopes for friendship one more time after they had been dashed so many times before?

"…Alright, Wisteria. I'll try." For you, he added to himself. The few times he had tried to reach out to others had not ended positively, with a solitary exception, the only other Faunus orphan St. Oum's had sheltered, a cat Faunus by the name of Bryony. She had not stayed at the orphanage long before she had been adopted by a family friend, but she had been his first, and only, friend. Conway shook his head. Best not to dwell on that. She was probably happy wherever she and her adoptive family had ended up.

"Let me know how it goes, won't you Conway?" Wisteria started to smile but a pained grimace quickly replaced it before he could reply. "Oof!"

"Wisteria! What's wrong? Are you alright?" Conway demanded as he jumped to his feet.

"Nothing's wrong Conway," The deer Faunus reassured with a soft smile as she rubbed her belly. "It was just the baby kicking."

Conway let out a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that, M- Wisteria." What was _wrong_ with him today? Not only had he run away from his teammates, but he had almost slipped and called Wisteria 'mom' twice! Granted, she _was_ the closest thing to a mother he had ever had and was ever likely to get, but there were certain rules that had to be followed.

"Sorry, sorry." The deer replied with a breathless chuckle. "The little tyke was just stretching, and my lungs happened to be in the way."

The two Faunus were silent for a moment while Wisteria regained her breath.

"By the way, Conway…" Wisteria started, "I have to go soon, but I wanted to tell you that you should expect something to arrive at Beacon for you within the next few weeks."

"What is it?" He asked as he tilted his head to the right. He didn't think he'd forgotten anything, and Ákos had taken a long-term mission a few weeks before the beginning of term, so it was unlikely he'd receive anything from the falcon.

"Now that would just ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" the deer Faunus replied with a laugh.

"Heh. Can't blame a guy for trying."

"I suppose not. But seriously, call me in a few days after you have some time to work with your team a bit more. They might surprise you." A loud crashing noise came from Wisteria's end of the line before he could reply. "Sorry, Conway, I've got to go. Bye!"

"Bye…" he said as the line cut out. "Mom…"

Conway slipped his Scroll back into his pocket and sat down with his back to an air conditioning unit. He wished he had his flute with him, while he took in the sight of Beacon in the early evening sunlight. Had his call really taken that long? He sat there for a while, mulling over what Wisteria had told him, long enough for the sun to actually dip below the horizon. As the air started to cool down, he got back to his feet and headed towards the door, only to stop as he rounded the corner of the A/C unit. Sitting on the other side of the roof and leaning against a different A/C unit was none other than the girl he had had a disagreement with the night before last. Both of them froze for a moment, her surprised yellow eyes locked with her own shocked green orbs. The look in Amber's eyes quickly morphed into dislike when she recognized him.

"Mikado?" He hazarded as he preemptively drew on his Aura, "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business, Kieran." She shot back as she climbed to her own feet. Conway narrowed his eyes slightly. Upon seeing the hostility in Amber's eyes, the flutist sighed and released his hold on his Aura.

"Look, I'm sorry about the whistle thing from the other night, can't we just let bygones be bygones?" he asked. Sure, it had only been a day and a half, but the whole 'glaring' thing had gotten old fast. Plus, he had just promised Wisteria that he would try and reach out to people, so what better way to start than with someone who he already had an antagonistic relationship with?

"What do you say?" He asked as he took a step closer and extended his right hand. "Want to start over?"

Amber glowered at the extended hand for a moment before she slapped it aside. Ouch, okay literally anyone else would've been better. He could see that now.

"Not until I've evened the score between us, Kieran." The heiress snapped, before she gained a thoughtful expression. "I'll tell you what, though. We can start over, once you and I settle things in the arena. After that, we'll see where we stand. Are we clear?"

Conway fought back the reflexive swallow. Say whatever you would about his predator species, but women could be downright _scary_ when angry, much like this yellow-eyed example in front of him. Thankfully, he had checked his team's course schedule earlier, and if he remembered correctly, CROW wasn't supposed to have a Sparring Class with Team AMBR for another few weeks. Hopefully he would survive her annoyance that long. He adopted a grin that he hoped didn't feel as forced as it felt, and replied.

"All right Mikado, if that is how you want to play it, fine. I accept your challenge."

Her answering smirk was positively feral.

"I'm looking forward to it."

**~AFT~**

Conway had quickly left the roof after his little confrontation with Amber. Something about her just felt… off to him, like the anger and ferocity she showed the rest of the world was just a mask that hid her true self. Conway didn't really know what it could be that she kept hidden, but her eyes… The first moment he had seen her on the roof, before she brought the anger roaring back, her eyes…

They had been just like his. Distrusting, sad, and... lonely.

The fox Faunus shook his head. When had his life become so complicated? He wondered while he swiped his Scroll across the lock on the door that lead to Team CROW's dorm room, closing it after he stepped through. The lack of lights overhead proved no more than a momentary hindrance as his eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom. Owen and Wendelin were apparently already asleep, if the soft snores and occasional puffs of white mist from their respective corners of the room were any indication.

River though, was sitting at her desk which was next to her bed. She was already wearing her nightgown and her hair had been released from its customary braid. The covered lamp that sat on the desk's corner gave off just enough light to see without being overwhelming in the otherwise dark room. The same headphones she had been wearing when they'd met on the transport sat on her ears. Conway was confused. Had she stayed up and left the light on for him?

"You were out late." The redhead remarked mildly as she turned to face him as she slipped her headphones off. As she did, Conway caught sight of her Scroll leaning against a pile of datacards. The title of a book flashed on the device's screen. _Everything You Wished You Knew About Faunus But Were Too Afraid To Ask_. The fox Faunus wasn't sure if he should be grateful that his teammate was taking an interest or insulted at her choice of study material. Honestly, there were far better books out there, like the Schnee-published _Faunus Facts for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals._ Sarcasm mode off. "I hope you're not going to make it a habit. Even though foxes are mostly nocturnal, staying up this late can't be good."

Conway said nothing as he silently moved over to his bed. He hung his hat on a hook improvised from some of Wendelin's scrap metal and quickly took off his uniform. Normally, he was much more reserved when changing in front of others, but given the fact that two of his teammates were asleep and the third one was blind, he felt comparatively at ease.

"You know, I don't need my Semblance to tell when I'm being ignored, not that I have it on right now anyway." River said, "I used too much Aura earlier to keep it on for most of the day."

Conway paused as he dug a spare set of sleep clothes from his dresser. But that would mean…

"Yep. I'm as blind as I usually am right now. And before you say anything, no, I didn't use it just now. That was just predictable." She frowned briefly at his lack of response. "Would you please say _something_, or at least stop using your Semblance to hide your sound? It feels _weird_ knowing that you're there and only being able to smell you and feel the air moving."

Conway thought about keeping silent, but Wisteria's advice came back to him. He sighed, but was careful to repress the sound with a brief flare of his Semblance. He really wasn't very good at the whole 'friendly' thing, but he _had_ promised to try…

"So… you really don't have your Semblance active right now?" Open mouth. Insert foot.

"I did just say that, didn't I?" River remarked rhetorically. "Though, I could probably use it now…" She remarked as she tapped at her chin, filling Conway with mild unease. "But I won't."

"Why not?" he asked as he changed into his nightclothes, a soft, worn, red t-shirt and a pair of shorts. His nightclothes from the previous night hadn't been washed yet. The flutist made a mental note to take care of that as soon as possible.

"It wouldn't really help my case." She admitted as she reached over to turn off her Scroll. "Even though it lets me see again, after a fashion, its other effects don't really inspire others to trust me." She turned to face him. "And, if Professor Greene is right, like she probably is," River muttered the latter half of that statement under her breath, "Trust is the most important part of what makes a team."

"Trust, huh?" Conway remarked as he finished unwrapping his tail. The Faunus barely suppressed a groan of relief as the fur on his fifth limb reflexively stood on end, causing it to fluff up uncontrollably.

"Yeah. Trust." River replied as she got out of her chair and pulled the covers back on her bed. "Which is why I'm not going to use my Semblance around you three as much as I can avoid it." She shuddered slightly as she sat on her bed. "I don't like the dark, and I hate not being able to see even the little that I can now, but…"She paused for a moment. "I think that I'll hate not being trusted by my team even more."

Conway was silent for a few seconds longer as he pulled the covers back on his own bed. He hesitated, but eventually replied, just as River laid down and turned the light off.

"Me too."

Now it was River's turn to be silent. The blind girl soon spoke in a hushed whisper, almost like she was afraid of being overheard. She was so quiet, even he could barely hear her words.

"Hey, Conway?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think… that maybe we could be friends?"

"I think… I'd like that, River."

In that moment, the first real tendrils of a bond tentatively started to form between the blind girl and the fox Faunus. No more words were exchanged before they fell asleep, but the atmosphere in the room was noticeably lighter, and no dreams of shadowy figures that wanted him to be human plagued Conway's sleep that night.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.

**~AFT~**

_Author's Notes_

_Oh boy, 36ish pages in Word, and more than 17,000 words. This might be the longest single Chapter I've ever written for anything ever. _

_Speaking of which, sorry about the delay on this one, I had a crazy busy winter break/Spring Semester. The gap between chapters should hopefully be shorter for the next one, since I've got about 3000 words written already, but I make no promises. _

_First off, I'd like to give special thanks to __**Freezingreality**__ and __**AgntNevada**__ for helping me get motivated to finish this chapter, and again to __**AgntNevada**__ for being willing to be a sounding-board for some future ideas for this story. If you haven't already, go check out his stories! They're called __**Team EMRD **__and __**The Other Side of the Glass**__!_

_For those wondering, this chapter basically takes place across the episodes "The Badge and the Burden, Pt 1 and 2." Next one will cover the episodes "Jaunedice Pt 1 and some of part 2." _

_Fun Fact# 34a: Taiyo occasionally speaking in bastardized Japanese will probably be a thing, as long as he can do it without Ianthe finding out. For those curious,_ _**Sanju no Haki**__ means something like __**Threefold Breaking**__. As for the scars… that comes later. _

_Fun Fact #34b: I don't speak Japanese, I'm just getting by with what I find on the internet. _

_Fun Fact# 35: Unlike pretty much all of the others Wendelin has remained nearly unchanged since I came up with the character. It only occurred to me that the tiny student of ambiguous gender could've been like Uintah, but with machines as I wrote that line. _

_Fun Fact# 36: Crystal Greene's hairstyle is somewhat similar to Anko Mitarashi's from Naruto, or Tao Jun's from Shaman King. _

_Fun Fact# 37: After re-watching 'The Badge and the Burden,' I rather thought that Grimm Studies with Professor Port was the last class of the day, given the sequence of events after class ended. _

_Fun Fact# 38: Just think of Claptrap's voice for the Holographic Mail Assistant, only about 36 times more annoying. _

_Fun Fact# 39: The dream scene at the beginning of the chapter has a very specific purpose. _

_Next Chapter:_

_Combat Time! _

_Enhanced Human vs Rampaging Faunus!_

_Yellow Construct vs Silver Sound!_

_A Familiar Figure Appears! _

_Witch and Hurricane!_

_Backstory and Plot!_

_EXCLAMATION POINTS! _

_All this and more (or possibly less) in RWBY: A Fox's Tale: Chapter 9: _

_The One Where Stuff Happens! __(Working Title)_

_Coming __(__Hopefully faster than this one__) __Soon! to a computer screen near you._

_Please drop a review if you have time, it really helps me out. _

_Edited 4/2/16. Changed a few words around, to make it flow better. _

_Edited again 7/25/16. Took some things out that should not have been there, and added a few more lines to the Burst Mode description._

_Edited for hopfully the last time 9/28/2016. Changing names, removal of Taiyo's current Burst Mode for (possible) later use. _


	9. Rivalries

AFT Chapter 9

Rivalries

_Author's Notes: So. Been a while, huh? I'd apologize, but several things outside my control, and more things in my control conspired together to delay this chapter. I'd say it won't happen again, but at this point, I think we'd all know that would be untrue. _

_So just enjoy the chapter, and I'll get the next one written as soon as I can. I hope you like combat, because there's a fair amount in this chapter. _

_Don't forget to leave a review on your way out!_

_Edited 11/24/2016. _

**~AFT~**

Conway glanced toward the clock on the wall from his position in the rings of seats that surrounded a large round open area. This was the Amphitheater, or the Fight Pit as he had heard some older students call it, and it was here that his (so-far) least favorite teacher was in charge.

It was in fact, the same room where Ozpin had given his speech the night before Initiation. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when he noticed the time was 1:57 pm. At least they hadn't been nearly late for this class, since Professor Goodwitch already seemed to dislike him. Apparently, she was not only the Assistant Headmistress, but also the teacher in charge of supervising sparring matches for newer students. It seemed a lot of responsibility for one person, but hey, who was he to judge?

Conway's tail twitched in its confinement, but it had yet to grow truly uncomfortable, which was more than he could say for the rest of his body. Tai had not been kidding when he said that his training would be difficult. The redhead had managed to convince him to get up almost two hours before classes, just for what Tai called light training. If a full speed sprint around the _entire _Beacon campus and then doing as many squats, push-ups, and crunches as he was physically able to do without vomiting was 'light training' Conway didn't think he ever wanted to see anything worse.

But he pushed through the pain and fatigue of those torture/training sessions, and the extra classes all team leaders had to take because he knew the end results would be worth it.

Like the other students, he and his teammates were dressed in their chosen combat attire. He glanced at his teammates, each of whom were occupying themselves while the last few stragglers arrived. River was next to him, fiddling with her weapon, Owen was a few rows away, chatting with Uintah, who was still shoe-less, but thankfully had not found any plants to carry around today. The last incident with the newly-dubbed 'Mr. Bonesy,' Professor Peach's bonsai tree, had been enough for everyone.

The exuberant Faunus and the reclusive Biology and Botany Professor had quickly struck up a friendship after that minor incident. It was helped along by Uintah's ability to speak with plants that endeared her to the normally short tempered woman. Professor Peach had been so taken with Uintah's unique ability, she allowed the rabbit Faunus partial access to a section of one of Beacon's greenhouses to plant whatever she wanted.

Wendelin and Ianthe were busy in the topmost row of seats, hand-weaving long strands of Spinnerling silk into a piece of cloth. During their training sessions, Conway had learned from Taiyo that his sister was quite gifted with thread and weaving as an artifact of her Semblance, Weave. Upon hearing of Wendelin's troubles, the martial artist had taken it upon himself to introduce her to them. The pair had hit it off almost immediately, especially when Wendelin had presented Ianthe with the challenge that the silk was turning out to be. The individual fibers were far too delicate for even the gentlest machines Wendelin could imagine, so the odd pair had been forced to weave their cloth by hand with a framework of ice. Business as usual, as it had been for the last few weeks.

Professor Goodwitch herself stood on the raised stage below the seats with a large, teacher-edition Scroll tucked into the crook of her arm. She scanned the rows of seats with a practiced eye, which briefly lingered on certain students. The tall blonde woman cleared her throat once. Immediately, all conversation and other activities ceased.

"Do we have any volunteers for our first match of the day?" Though her tone was mild, her voice carried an unmistakable hint of command.

Conway glanced across the arena at Amber, who regarded him with guarded yellow eyes. She raised her right hand and called to the professor.

"I'll go."

The teacher turned to Amber. "Thank you Miss Mikado. Any other volunteers?"

"Actually, Professor…" Amber said while she made her way down, "I had an opponent in mind."

Conway tensed when Goodwitch considered Amber's request for a moment. "While that is slightly unorthodox, I don't see any issue with it. Who would you like to challenge?"

"Him." Amber declared, unsheathing her sword and pointing it directly at Conway. He shivered slightly at the anger written all over her features. He might be a predator-type Faunus, but this girl gave off the same aura of menace as an _apex_ predator.

"Mr. Kieran, do you accept Miss Mikado's challenge?" Was it just him, or did the Professor sound like she hoped he would refuse? Conway swallowed with a hint of trepidation.

"Yes, I accept." The flutist replied, rising to his feet and making his way down to the arena floor with Amber's unsettling yellow gaze locked on him.

Conway came to a stop across the arena floor from his opponent. Goodwitch stepped off to the side and recited the rules as though they all hadn't heard them at the beginning of term. Conway tuned her out and drew his flute from its holster. Polished steel whispered as the blade sections extended and locked together. This wasn't going to be an easy fight.

"Begin!"

Amber dashed forward almost before Goodwitch's declaration. Her jian led the way with a fast overhand cut. Conway swung his own blade up to deflect hers. The flutist's eyes widened in surprise when Amber didn't resist intercepting blow and instead used the momentum to rotate her body and cut at his right side. Conway only avoided a painful blow by jumping back half a step, but even that was a mistake.

Now that she had him on defense, Amber had no intention of letting Conway attack. She charged forward with reckless abandon, forcing him to block a lightning fast upward slice, but when he did, she stepped in too close for him to strike with his sword and punched him _hard_ in the face.

Even with Aura that strike _hurt._ Luckily, Conway had taken his self-titled _sensei's_ lessons to heart and moved with the blow, tucking into a sidelong roll that carried him out of Amber's easy reach. The Faunus scrambled to his feet and lunged at his opponent. Before he reached her, pain flared through his lower back, stemming from his constricted tail. The pain was bad enough that he missed his next strike, giving Amber the chance to deplete more of his Aura.

Conway gritted his teeth and ignored the pain as best he could. Now was not the time to show weakness, not in front of this predator.

Steel clashed with steel as flute-hilted sword and battle-worn jian crossed again and again. The two fighters wove an intricate tapestry around the arena of strikes, counters, parries, and dodges. First one held the advantage, then the other, but never for long.

Conway managed to sneak a quick stab below Amber's guard when the latter overextended slightly on a thrust. With a barely audible grunt, the heiress recovered and shoved him away, then formed a large hexagon of yellow Aura in her empty hand and flung it at him.

"Stay still, Kieran!" Conway grimaced and dropped to all fours under the attack, "It'll be over faster that way!"

For a moment the Faunus almost agreed with her, until he saw the projectile grind a deep trench into the wall behind him. No way was he getting hit by even one of those if he could help it.

The Faunus paid for his moment of inattention with another ten percent of his Aura from Amber's follow-up barrage of bullets. He gritted his teeth in frustration and charged back into her reach. Their blades clashed once, twice, three times, before Conway took advantage of her changed stance to step within her range and body check her, knocking the gun from her hand. The weapon clattered to the floor, far out of her reach. Amber jumped back with a hiss, cradling her stinging appendage.

Conway drew his own gun and fired three shots at Amber, who let out a pained gasp when one bullet slammed into her left leg. Seizing the momentary distraction, Conway gathered as much sonic energy as he could, condensing it into an invisible golf ball sized sphere of roiling sound and smashing it into Amber's next hexagon.

The two Semblances clashed with a horrendous screech, streams of errant sonic energy escaped from the sphere as it surged against the center of Amber's hexagon. Conway felt a flash of surprised anger as the ball burst, knocking them both back and leaving the yellow Aura cracked, but intact.

"My Construct doesn't break _that easily!_" Amber snarled and charged back into close range with a blinding flurry of precise cuts and stabs that Conway, caught flatfooted, was hard pressed to defend against.

Conway risked a glance at the Aura board. He was down to twenty-four percent, just nine percent away from being disqualified. A second glance while he deflected an overhead swing told him that Amber still had almost thirty percent of her own Aura left. He knew, despite the amount of Aura she expended with her Semblance, her skill far exceeded his.

But what if neither of them won?

Conway quickly holstered his gun and gathered all the sonic energy he could find, slightly more than last time, into the palm of his right hand where it formed a baseball-sized sphere. The air rippled with the motion of pent up sonic energy as Conway batted Amber's sword aside, stepped within her range and thrust his right hand at her midsection.

Predictably, she intercepted his attack with a yellow hexagon that cost her another twelve percent of her Aura, but the attack had served its purpose. The larger sphere detonated on impact with a massive screech of released sound that once again cracked Amber's defense.

This time they both winced. Conway was confused. Where had that flash of white-hot anger and bitter resentment come from? Amber looked like she shared his confusion. Had she felt something when their Semblances clashed too?

Whistling wind betrayed Amber's next swift cut to his right. Conway had to give her credit, even momentarily distracted, she never lost track of her goal. The flutist reversed his grip on his sword and blocked the heiress's blade. The impact sent a shower of sparks scattering through the air as the two blades struggled against each other.

Green and yellow eyes locked. Both knew they didn't have enough Aura to continue past the next decisive blow.

Nineteen percent.

Amber broke the blade lock with a harsh shove followed by a snap kick that knocked Conway a few stumbling steps away.

Sixteen percent.

Conway hung back, waiting for his chance.

Amber charged and Conway met her charge with his own. Pain flashed through his face from a straight thrust that nearly gouged his eye. But even as the fox staggered, clutching his eye, the heiress also fell back, choking from the impact of the balisong Conway threw at her neck.

The Aura monitor blared a low warning note, signifying that one or both combatants' Aura had reached the danger zone below fifteen percent. Conway was left with a mere two percent, while Amber had slightly more at three.

"Enough!" Professor Goodwitch shouted with a wave of her crop for emphasis.

"That was a good fight, Mikado." Conway offered while he retracted his blade with a touch of a switch and held out a hand to Amber with a hopeful half smile. Amber reached up and slapped his hand away.

"I don't need your help, Kieran." She spat and stood up, sheathing her sword as she did.

Conway sighed and retrieved his knife, flipping it closed with a flick of his wrist. It had been a desperate gamble, but worth the result. Not quite a tie, but neither side could claim a win.

Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat again, drawing the class's attention.

"You both did well, but you also made several missteps." The professor turned to address the class. "Can anyone tell me what mistakes were made in that match?"

Morgan lazily raised his hand. The redhead was sprawled across three chairs with his feet on the chairs in front of him. Despite the teacher's disapproving look, Morgan refused to sit up straight.

"Mr. Kaine, get your feet off those chairs." Morgan complied, but only because he knew she would force him to move if he pushed her.

"His first mistake was thinking he could beat my partner and leader."

Conway felt his face burning as several students laughed at Morgan's joke. The professor was less amused.

"Levity aside, Mr. Kaine?" She said with an icy glare.

"Just that Ma'am."

"Very well." Professor Goodwitch said. "You might wish to think more carefully before you speak while you're serving detention this Saturday with Professor Port."

Ignoring Morgan's mutterings about unfair teachers, she continued. "Mr. Kieran and Ms. Mikado both made one glaring error in an otherwise adequate match. Ms. Mikado allowed her emotions to cloud her judgement, making her spend more Aura than was necessary. Mr. Kieran capitalized on that mistake, but severely underestimated his opponent's skill level compared to his own. He also took unnecessary chances in the pursuit of a draw, as it is entirely possible he could have emerged victorious if other avenues had been explored."

"You both need more practice. Let that be the lesson you learn from this." She said, waving her hand in dismissal. "Our next match will be Owen Alpine of Team CROW versus Taiyo Akairo of Team SUIT."

Amber elbowed Conway on their way back to the stairs. One look was enough to tell the Faunus that, if anything, the heiress was even angrier with him than before. That is, if the heated glare he could practically feel was anything to go by.

"You got lucky today, Kieran. You won't beat me like that again. And I don't know _what_ you did when our Semblances clashed, but if you do it again, I promise you'll regret it."

"So, I guess we're not going to be friends anytime soon, then?" Conway wasn't exactly thrilled by the prospect of _another _enemy on top of all the ones who hated him for his race, and that Assistant Headmistress.

"No, I doubt that _very, very much_. Now kindly get out of my sight."

With her parting shot made, Amber stalked off to join the rest of her team. That girl was much stronger than she looked, Conway thought with a wince as he pressed his hand to his arm. The fox Faunus barely restrained a surprised yelp when a friendly hand clapped onto his shoulder.

"Nice fight Con!" Tai exclaimed, "Ah, sorry. Forgot about the whole 'no touching without warning' thing." The redhead looked a bit sheepish, but continued. "But still, you did good. My turn now though! It's been weeks since I had a decent fight, and Owen's pretty strong!"

Tai decided to forgo walking the rest of the way and jumped down the remaining three-quarters of the stairs. He hit the ground, rolled, and jumped to his feet, landing perfectly across the arena from Owen. He bounced on the balls of his feet, hands already up and ready for action. The gentle giant looked befuddled by Tai's exuberance, but hefted his axe from his back and extended it with a touch of a button.

"Ah can't promise Ah won't hurt ya, so 'pologies in advance." Owen remarked, hefting the ax over his shoulder.

"Oho, that sounds like a challenge to me! Bring it on big guy! I can take anything you can dish out!" Tai exclaimed.

The instant Professor Goodwitch started the match, Tai leapt forward and jabbed at Owen's belly, but the tall Faunus blocked with his ax's shaft. Tai's second and third punch were also parried with similarly little effort, But the redhead managed to sneak a snap kick past the giant's guard that slammed into Owen's upper thigh. Much to Tai's shock, despite the power he put behind the kick, the giant barely seemed to register the blow. Tai barely dodged the retaliatory chop from the ax, but was too slow to avoid the follow-up swipe with the weapon's rifle butt end.

Even that glancing blow was enough to knock the redhead off his feet and flying back, but he recovered in midair and kicked off the wall to launch himself back into Owen's range. The bluenette stabbed at the Tai with the pronged blade tips, but Tai slapped the weapon aside, grabbed the surprised ox Faunus by the horns and slammed his knee into Owen's face. The Faunus' nose broke with an audible _crunch_ but the martial artist wasn't done yet, even as he released Owen's horns, he unleashed a brutal double-footed kick into his opponent's chest. Tai landed with catlike grace and spun to face his opponent.

The giant staggered back a few paces, but impressively kept his grip on his weapon, even as he brought his other hand up to his face. Owen reversed his grip on the ax and used it to support his weight while he swiped at the blood that poured from his nose with a snarl.

"Ah geez, you ok?" Tai said and dropped his fighting pose. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard-ah?!"

Owen's bloodshot eyes widened with unrestrained fury and he released a bellow of unbridled rage as he dug his ax and feet into the ground and hurled himself at Tai, leaving cracked floors and a trail of rubble in his wake. Tai barely had time to plant his feet before the giant was upon him.

Grabbing the horns didn't work this time, as Owen threw Tai into a wall with a single shake of his head. The redhead barely managed to dodge Owen's salvo of what sounded like anti-vehicle shells fired from his weapon. Tai leapt and dodged like a man possessed until Owen finally ran out of bullets and simply charged at him.

The martial artist had no time to dodge the massive overhand swing of Owen's ax and was forced to bring his arms up in a block. Both armored hands gripped the blade's edge. The ground below their feet cracked from the sheer pressure Owen exerted on his weapon. The martial artist's arms actually trembled from effort of holding back the enraged Faunus' axe. Despite the pressure, Tai's face sported a gleeful smile.

"You're a lot stronger than you look, aren'tcha? Just like me!" Tai ground out while he held the ax blade mere inches from his head. Despite the effort of holding Owen back, a gleeful smile decorated his face. "And that's sayin' something, 'cuz you look _strong_!"

With a cry of effort, the redhead shifted Owen's ax blade _just_ far enough for him to dodge to the side. With Owen's massive strength driving it, the massive blade buried half its length in the shattered floor. Before the giant Faunus could free his weapon, Tai dashed forward and unleashed a barrage of lightning-fast punches on Owen's midsection.

Incredibly, the Faunus betrayed no sign of even feeling the blows that rained on his belly and chest with all the force of an industrial jackhammer. His Aura barely even depleted seven percent from Tai's furious assault, Owen grabbed both of Tai's wrists and slammed his forehead into the redhead's, stunning him long enough for the ox to recover his ax.

"_Itai_…" Tai moaned as he staggered back holding his forehead. A thin line of blood trickled from a shallow cut on his temple. The martial artist smiled as he flipped backward from Owen's next horizontal swing and upward diagonal cut combo, and flipped a few more times to gain some distance. Tai clapped his hands with a grin. "Guess that means I don't have to hold back as much anymore! Which is good for me, since _I_ _**hate**_ holding back!_ Plus Thirty-Six Percent__!_"

Aura burst from Tai's skin in a bright orange wave that clung to his body like a shroud and quickly receded back into his skin. The martial artist's hair gained random gold streaks and his muscles became visibly more defined. His Aura counter maxed out and began to pulse orange instead of green, but it drained constantly. Owen's was now navy blue and draining slower, but still far faster than average. Unnoticed by either of the combatants, Glynda's eyes widened in shock.

"_Ikuzo!_"

Owen was stunned by the bright flash of orange light long enough for Tai to leap and launch a snap kick into the taller Faunus' solar plexus. Miraculously, Owen was barely affected by the blow beyond staggering back a pace or two and dropping his weapon again. However, Tai had no intention of letting the enraged Faunus regain his weapon this time. The gold-streaked redhead wasted no time following up the brutal kick with a dizzying barrage of strikes, all intended to disable.

Purple bruises bloomed wherever Tai struck, but incredibly, Owen's Aura only dropped a mere eight percent from the savage barrage. The giant Faunus intercepted Tai's incoming right fist and locked his hand around the redhead's forearm like a vise.

"Oh _fu…_" was all Tai had to say before he was bodily heaved off of the floor, straight into Owen's clenched fist. The giant Faunus released Tai just after the blow struck, letting the martial artist fly into a wall. The sculpted cement shattered on impact, and the sound of a painful _crack_ filled the air as Tai gritted his teeth to keep from roaring in pain from his newly-cracked ribs and bruised spine. He looked up just in time to see Owen charging at him on all fours, weapon lying forgotten in his fury.

The redhead forced all thoughts of pain from his mind and dashed forward to meet Owen's headlong charge with his own.

Human and Faunus both drew a clenched fist back and, with matching cries of effort and rage, launched their attacks. Tai ducked under Owen's rage-empowered haymaker and unleashed a devastating uppercut that slammed into the giant Faunus' jaw.

"_Kyokukodageki!_"

A loud _crack_ echoed through the room. The berserker was launched a few feet back, but Tai had not escaped the exchange unharmed either. His right arm dangled limply at his side, the wrist and forearm beneath his gauntlet were partially twisted out of their natural positions. While the Faunus was dazed, Tai ignored the pain from his likely-broken wrist and launched another vicious side-kick into Owen's ribs.

A quieter crack issued from Tai's left knee on impact. The redhead winced and stumbled when the limb failed to take his full weight. His Semblance only enhanced his durability as long as he maintained the same level of his Plus Scale, and if he didn't keep that output stable, his body paid the price. A quick glance at the Aura board showed his Aura at thirty-eight percent and draining fast, while Owen's was slightly lower at thirty-three percent.

He had to finish this fast.

That was all he had time to think before Owen was after him again with a bestial roar. The giant Faunus' eyes were almost solid red from broken blood vessels and his pupils had shrunk to mere pinpricks of fury and pain. Flecks of blood-spotted spittle flew from his roaring mouth as he bore down on the flagging martial artist.

"_Taijutsu Ohgi..."_

Tai dimly heard the professor yell at them to stop, but he knew that if he did, Owen would likely tear him apart in this fit of blind rage. The gold-streaked redhead ignored the professor's command and concentrated all the Aura he could into his clenched fist. He only had enough left for one strong hit and he hoped it would be enough.

_"Nensho Ookami no __Shinku Kaitai Ken!_"

He barely dropped below Owen's reckless charge and with a final yell of effort slammed his fist into Owen's unprotected right side. The manifested energy in his drawn-back hand coalesced into an orange shroud that momentarily formed the shape of a wolf's snarling maw on impact. The manifested shroud pushed against Owen, the conjured jaws clamped around the Faunus' ribcage and burst in a brilliant display of orange and navy blue as both combatant's Aura fully depleted. Tai felt a few ribs give way to his fist with a loud _crunch _echoed by his left arm.

The sheer force of Tai's punch bodily lifted the berserk Faunus and flung him headlong into a wall, where he was imbedded. Tai's hair lost its gold streaks and faded back to its normal red as he fell forward. He dimly heard the Aura counter blare its low warning note while the heavier thud of Owen falling to the floor echoed through the silent hall.

Both students laid motionless and silent save for their labored breathing and low noises of pain. A moment later, Owen opened his eyes.

"Ugh…" the blue-haired giant groaned, "Did Ah hurt… anyone?"

"Hah… Hah…" Tai panted heavily. "Nah… big guy… You didn't hurt anyone."

Owen sighed in relief. "Good… Ah… didn' think… anyone could stop me… once it got goin'… Yeh win… Tai."

"Nope… I lost... I don't think I can… even move right now… Good… fight."

"Draw?" Owen weakly suggested before unconsciousness claimed him.

Tai managed to lift his head while a quartet of medics rushed towards them. The sight of a near-completely destroyed arena looked back at him. "Sure… Damn… we broke… the arena… Gotta use… a weapon… next time… my… arms… ow..." was all he managed to say before he blacked out too.

A burly janitor struggled to carry Owen's ax after the gaggle of medical workers carried the two unconscious boys to the infirmary. Furious whispering broke out between the students in the tiered seating. Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat again after the medics took Tai and Owen from the arena, quieting the whispering students.

"Well, students, since the arena has been destroyed, we have little choice but to end class slightly early. For next class, I expect a page-long analysis of the fight between Messrs. Akairo and Alpine. And don't forget to keep up your training for the Vytal Festival! Dismissed!"

The students all quickly filed out, barring a few stragglers who also left when she turned her gaze to them, leaving her standing alone in the midst of the destroyed arena. Glynda sighed and she waved her riding crop at the piles of rubble and masonry, sending them back into their original configurations. It was slow going. At times like this she missed her old classmate, Napier Nielson, and her Reconstruction Semblance. She could have fixed this damage with a mere touch, while it would take Glynda up to several minutes of intense concentration to repair. Was she jealous? No, not really. While Napier's Semblance had been useful, it had also been notoriously unreliable, unlike her own. It _had_ been more effective on a much larger scale though.

It was a great loss, not just to Beacon, but to the entire Kingdom of Vale when Napier had been killed.

She sighed, half in frustration and half out of nostalgia. When had the first year students gotten so powerful? Kieran was fairly canny for his age, not many would have thought to force a stalemate in the face of a more skilled enemy by exploiting their anger. By a similar token, the Mikado heiress was quite good with her Semblance, despite her much smaller than average Aura reserve, and her blade skills were nothign to sneer at either. She could see both of them becoming powerful defenders of human and Faunus-kind in a few years with the proper training, even though some internal part of her seethed at the thought of Terran's son following in his father's footsteps.

Not to mention the sheer strength Alpine and Akairo displayed, though in the latter's case, it was to be expected given his ancestry and training. If only his father still lived. The loss of the Grimmslayer had been a hefty blow to morale among the Huntsmen and Huntresses, even though he hadn't been killed in action like Napier, only brought low by his own actions.

She gave one last sigh as the final pieces of masonry fused into place. Hopefully nothing else would give her a headache today.

**~AFT~**

Tyrian, being among the last students to exit, leaned against the doorframe and pulled out his Scroll to complete some unfinished business.

"Hey, Tyr!"

The gambler looked up from the gambling pool he had organized on his Scroll via the Beacon security system with a slight chuckle. He had just won almost two hundred Lien by betting the two powerhouses in the arena would tie.

"Heh… Yeah, Win?"

Uintah smiled as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. Ianthe also stood and brushed some silk strands from her uniform. Wendelin had already gone with River and Conway, leaving most of the raw silk they carried around with their weaving partner.

"Tai doesn't like staying in one place for too long." Uintah said with a beatific grin, "Maybe if we go see him in the infirmary, he won't leave and train while his arms are broken!"

"We'll go check on my brother, if you want to stay here," The albino girl offered, "I'm sure the little idiot is already up and trying to escape the infirmary. Remind me to tell you about the Beowulf Incident later."

Tyrian sighed. "Go ahead, I'll be right behind you."

Uintah beamed at her closest non-planty friend and practically skipped out of the room, followed closely by Ianthe.

Fortuna materialized via a small projector in Tyrian's glasses. The eight-inch tall figure wore a visage of resigned disapproval stamped on her digital features. "Tyrian, should you really be profiting on your fellow students' spars?"

"Fort, I know Cery told you to keep an eye on me, but you really don't have to try and regulate how I spend my time." Tyrian said, "Besides, what's the harm?"

"Aside from gambling being illegal except in certain licensed establishments?" The AI asked rhetorically, "What about what your parents or sister would have to say about it? Also, my name is Fortuna, please refer to me as such."

Tyrian glowered at Fortuna's avatar. "I asked you to keep an electronic eye on my activities, not remind me of their dubious morality. If it bothers you that much to be my lookout, then I'll just do it without you next time, _Fort_."

Fortuna started. "No, that is not what I meant, Tyrian! I meant that if you try this again, _ask me_ to help you instead of just keeping a lookout!" The construct huffed in annoyance. "Even with how good your skills are, you were almost detected! At least upload me into the network next time so I can actually help!"

Tyrian was taken aback. He thought that Ceres had only sent him Fortuna to keep him in check, but it seemed the AI had its own opinion on what watching out for him meant. He gave the little projection a small laugh and a genuine smile.

"Alright then, partner. Next time, let's see what an AI of your capabilities can do."

Fortuna looked startled by his easy acceptance of her offered assistance, but quickly schooled her features back into an impassive mask.

"Fine, but first, you should catch up with your teammates. It would not do for a leader to be absent at a time like this."

**~AFT~**

It was a nice day outside, Conway mused, as he stared out a window while he, his teammates, and Team SUIT sat outside the infirmary, waiting for news on Owen and Tai's condition. Aside from Tai's obvious broken arms and fractured leg, Owen had a number of moderately severe internal injuries courtesy of the former. Most of them were napping, barring Tyrian, who was busily tapping away on his Scroll, and Uintah who was cradling a tiny plant and cooing to it. Suddenly a white blur streaked across the sky so fast that he had barely seen it and landed in a tree that shaded a smaller courtyard below the infirmary window.

Was that…?

"I'll be right back," Conway stated, getting up from the uncomfortable bench that he had been sharing with Wendelin and River. Honestly, he was glad for the chance to escape the chilly aura Wendelin exuded.

"What...?" River asked blearily. She too had been dozing, Conway noticed, though it was hard to tell with the blindfold. How she could sleep with the portable space cooler that was Wendelin so close was beyond him.

"I'm not sure, but I think it might've been an old friend of mine. Just stay here, alright?"

"You want anyone to come with you?" Tyrian asked, glancing up from his Scroll. "I don't mind."

"No, I'm alright." Conway waved off Tyrian's offer. If that was what, or rather who, he thought it was, then he didn't want anyone else with him.

The blond soon made his way to the tree that shaded most of the small courtyard and barely spotted a flash of white hopping through the upper branches. He sighed and extended his right arm to the highest branch he could reach.

"You can stop hiding, I know that's you up there. You want to come down?" He said to the open air. A moment passed, and a white shape leapt from its hiding spot near the tree's crown. It plummeted toward the ground and snapped its black-speckled wings open, catching the slight breeze to right itself and alighted perfectly on his arm.

"Good girl Zassy." Conway praised, only to receive a sharp beak to his hand. "Ow! Okay, okay! Zsazsa! Geez, do you have to do that _every_ time I try to call you that?" He ignored the bird's disgruntled look and cautiously moved to touch the white gyrfalcon's head and neck. Maybe the seven-hundredth or so time would be the charm. She cocked her head at him and gave him a glare with her yellow-rimmed eyes. Conway ignored the warning gaze, only to narrowly escape with all his fingers mere moments later when the annoyed bird snapped at his hand. It would have been more noteworthy if she didn't do this every time he tried to touch her starting from the first time they met almost five years earlier.

"Okay, fine! No touching either!" The flutist tried to not notice the amused glint in the white gyrfalcon's fierce eyes as he moved his hand away from her back.

"What are you even doing here, girl?" Conway wondered, "Wait… If you're here… then that means…"

Conway's train of though was interrupted as a pair of wiry arms wrapped around his chest from behind. The familiar scents of heady wood smoke, feathers, and refined Earth Dust surrounded him. Zsazsa took the opportunity to hop onto a low-hanging branch. Conway instinctively lashed out with an elbow and put on a satisfied grin as he felt it impact a bony ribcage lined with wiry muscle. Despite the solid hit, the entrapping arms only tightened more.

"Oof! Why do you react to everything unexpected with violence, kit?" his assailant asked aloud.

"I haven't seen you in months, and _that's_ the first thing you ask?" Conway demanded while he writhed in an ineffective attempt to free himself from Ákos' Altair's wiry arms. "Put me down!"

The taller Faunus released his prey with a bark of laughter after a moment and stepped back, holding Conway at arm's length.

Conway took the opportunity to study the falcon's features in turn. Ákos had aged quite a bit since the first time they had met, but he still retained the spark of levity and warmth Conway had noticed after the first few visits to the orphanage, particularly around Wisteria.

"You've gotten taller since the last time I saw you!" Ákos exclaimed as he tried to playfully tousle Conway's hair, only to be met with a handful of hat instead. Conway sighed and pushed the taller Faunus' hand off his head. Unperturbed, the older man continued, "So! Tell me about your time here at Beacon so far!"

Zsazsa hopped from her perch in the tree onto Conway's hat, and from there, onto Ákos' shoulder with a flap of her strong wings, where she nuzzled briefly against his cheek.

"It's been... strange." Conway said. What was stranger was how that bird didn't like to be touched by anyone but Ákos.

"Strange how?" Ákos asked, brows knitted in concern.

"I don't mean it's been bad!" the fox backtracked, "It's just… My team knows what I am, and some of our classmates do too, and…"

"Not one of them's treated you differently?" Ákos finished with a knowing grin. At Conway's uncertain look, he continued, "Yeah. Surprised the heck out of me too, back when I was a student here. 'Course, it helped that I had another Faunus on my team and a couple others in the same class."

"So do I, actually." Conway replied, "Owen's in the infirmary right now though, recovering from a sparring match with a friend that got out of hand. Left the arena a mess, too. Professor Goodwitch actually cancelled class early."

"So she's your teacher, huh? How has that been?" Ákos asked.

"I don't know," Conway hedged, "The way she acts, it's like… like she has something against me personally, but I have no idea what I did."

"It's probably more her issue than anything you did. Maybe you remind her of someone, or something like that." The older Faunus said with a shrug.

"What are you doing here, anyway? The last I heard from you or Wisteria, you were on an extended mission somewhere in Mistral."

"My assignment ended earlier than I thought," Ákos said easily, "and I had to bring a report back in person, so I figured I'd drop by the old alma mater and see how you were settling in. By the way, I heard you were made a team leader. Takin' after your old teacher, huh? Congrats, kit."

Conway felt his face flush with a strange mixture of embarrassment and pride, and he looked away.

"Thanks, Ákos."

Another set of footsteps, accompanied by a faint clicking noise interrupted the moment. Both Faunus turned to see River feeling her way down the cobbled path with her white cane sweeping the ground before her. Uintah wandered aimlessly behind her constantly sweeping the area with wide, excited eyes. The bubbly rabbit Faunus's eyes lit up with unmistakable joy when she saw them.

"Hello Conway Kieran! Hello tall, white-haired stranger and bird! Who are you?"

Conway could tell Ákos was surprised by the happy, bubbly oddness that was Uintah Oihana, but the veteran Huntsman recovered his composure quickly.

"Hello there young lady, my name is Ákos Altair. Conway used to be my apprentice, before he was accepted here. And this," he gestured to the gyrfalcon on his shoulder, who eyed the newcomers warily, "Is my friend Zsazsa."

"It's nice to meet you both, Hurricane and Lilyfeathers! Uintah's name is Uintah Oihana, and this is River!" Uintah chirped. Ákos was dumbfounded that this little sprig of a rabbit Faunus knew his old nickname from the heyday of team ASPN.

"Hello sir, my name is River Caeli." River began, extending her hand to Ákos, who took it gently.

"Sir?" Ákos made a show of looking around for who Uintah was addressing. "My name's Ákos, and you can call me that. It's a pleasure to meet both of you, are you both on Conway's team?" The older Faunus asked.

Uintah giggled. "No, Uintah is a member of Team SUIT. Conway Kieran and River are partners, and members of Team CROW! Conway Kieran is their leader!"

While Uintah caught her breath, River took the chance to speak.

"While it was nice to meet you, Ákos, we actually came out here because we got word from the nurses that Owen and Tai will be awake soon. Wendel, Ianthe, and Tyrian are with them now, and we figured you should be there too."

"How are they doing?" Conway asked.

"Thanks to some of the medical staff having healing Semblances, they're mostly back to a hundred percent. I mean, Tai's left arm is still kinda messed up, and Owen'll have to take it easy for a while, but they're back on their feet at least. Ianthe was a huge help."

Conway let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, that's good to hear. I'm glad they're okay."

"You should go see to your teammate, Con." Ákos said, putting his hands into his coat pockets.

"But…"

"It's all part of being a team leader. If you want their support, you have to support them." Conway still looked conflicted. "Go on kit, get! I'll catch up with you later, okay?" Ákos finished with another round of hat-tousling.

"Argh, fine! I'll talk to you later, you old sack of feathers!" Conway shouted and stormed off, with Uintah skipping after him.

The falcon Faunus made an odd sound halfway between a screech and a laugh, "Kreehahaha! That's a new one, I'll be sure to tell Wisty that later! See you around!"

River stayed back for a moment after Conway and Uintah left. Despite the blindfold, Ákos felt like the trainee was staring at him.

"If you're trying to get a read on me with your Semblance, good luck." The veteran remarked.

River started in surprise

"How did you know?"

"Wasn't that hard to figure out," Ákos scoffed. "I mean, the blindfold is kinda a dead giveaway that you're using _something_ else to see, ya'know? S'not exactly subtle, if you know what I mean." At River's guarded expression, the Faunus grinned. "Not that you should be using an Aura-reading Semblance on your allies anyway. I can feel your eyes on me, even now."

River gave a guilty-looking nod. "I know that looking at other people's memories through their Aura is terribly impolite, but I can't _see_ any other way. Anyway, it doesn't seem to work on you or any other teacher here, so what does it matter?"

"Well, first off, I'd say its more invasive than impolite, bordering on insensitive really, if I'm being honest. Secondly, of course it's not going to work on me, or any Huntsman or Huntress who has any kind of real experience. We tend to keep a tight leash on our Aura." He shrugged, "Never know when you're going to need it after all. I'd figure that you'll be able to read more experienced people as you yourself gain more experience, so don't worry about that. Honestly, despite the whole 'voyeurism' thing…" the Faunus gave her a half-grin, "…I think I'm glad you're on my kid's team."

The blind girl started in surprise.

"Yeah, after the Council passed the law prohibiting active-duty Huntsmen and Huntresses from adopting kids, I just sort of... took him 'under my wing,' as it were..." The Huntsman joked weakly. "It was the best I could do. Look after him for me, won't ya? He's a bit of a loner, but he's a good kid. I'd appreciate it more than I can say."

River slowly nodded. "…He's my partner, so of course I'll keep my eye on him." She said with a small chuckle.

The veteran laughed too. "I think I like you, Caeli. You and your parents are good people. Tell 'em I said hey next time you see them won'tcha? They'll know my name. Now, you should get going before your friends think I ate you or somethin' ridiculous like that. What can I say, it's one of the risks of being a predator-type Faunus."

As River turned to leave, Ákos called out.

"By the way, I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"Accepting Con. He might not say it, but he's pretty lonely. Having someone his own age in his corner is more than he's ever had. He appreciates it, even if he never says so." Ákos glanced at his watch. "Ah, dang, now I'm late. See you around, Caeli."

"You might see me, but I doubt I'll see you, Hurricane Ákos."

River's remark went unheard as Ákos was already long gone. All that was left were some white feathers and the distant cry of a gyrfalcon. The blind girl turned and followed her friends back to the infirmary.

**~AFT~**

Ákos hurried through Beacon's lower halls on the way to the tower when he was stopped quite suddenly by being dragged by his collar through a door. He struggled for a moment, only to discover that his assailant wasn't actually holding him physically.

"Weren't you supposed to be out of the country, Altair?"

The falcon Faunus sighed and broke free of Glynda's slackening telekinetic grip. Of course, of all the people to run in to before he could meet up with Ozpin, it had to be the one person he liked the least. It didn't help that their respective teams, GATE and ASPN, had been rivals back during their own school days. Neither of them were willing to let that animosity die, even if they were both the last remaining members of their respective teams, and there wasn't much point in holding onto it.

"Woah, you sure move quick, Gee-Gee, but I'm spoken for." Ákos stated. He waved his left hand in front of her face, showing off the plain band of white metal on his ring finger.

Glynda narrowed her eyes and scowled at the much-disliked nickname he had bestowed on her during their school days, but paused when she saw the ring.

"Why are you here?" the teacher bit out with barely contained annoyance, ignoring the ring for the moment.

"Ah calm your tits, Goodwitch. I'm not here to pick a fight. I came here to see Ozzy. Got a bit of info for him that I didn't want to talk about on an open channel." Ákos replied as he rested his wrists on his weapons' handles.

"And you choose to gallivant around with that _boy_ and his friends instead of checking in with him immediately?" The blonde sniped, growing visibly more annoyed with the tall Faunus.

"Geez, would you calm down before you pop a vessel?" Ákos remarked casually. "I checked in with him first thing, he told me it could wait a bit while I saw my old student. I don't usually get the chance to see him, ya'know? They grow up so fast…" The Faunus wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, "Seems like just yesterday I was gettin' chewed out by Wisty for givin the kid a gun." He turned his head and muttered under his breath, "Damn Council restrictions…"

"Conway _Kieran_ is not your responsibility anymore, _Altair_. You should know that any claim you had on him as an apprentice was rendered void when he was accepted here." The blonde snapped. Ákos glanced at her hand and found it occupied by her weapon in its compressed form.

"Then it's a good thing I have an _official_ reason to be here, isn't it?" He returned with a shrug, "Seeing him was a bonus. And what do you have against him anyway?"

Glynda glowered at the tall Faunus. Her crop creaked from the strength of her grip and started to spark from her barely-leashed Aura. "You know fully well what I have against him. I just can't believe that _you_ of all people chose to take an interest. Last I heard, you were rejecting all apprenticeship applicants out of hand and insisting on working alone."

Ákos stiffened and fixed the teacher with a glare. "Don't go there, Glynda."

"Why was that, again?"

"I'm warning you, Goodwitch, drop it." The falcon Faunus dropped all pretense of playfulness.

"Something to do with your team, perhaps?"

Something snapped.

"Alright," Ákos began stiffly, "I was prepared to let you off with a warning, _Gee-Gee_…" He trailed off and slipped his coat from his shoulders, catching it by the collar and flinging it to the arena's edge, where it landed perfectly next to the door, followed by his hat. His hands gripped his _Blitzsturm _tonfa and drew them with the ease of long practice. Six short metal cylinders rested in a harness on his back.

Glynda wasted no more time with words. With a flick of her wrist, her crop extended to its full length with an ominous _snap_. Ákos chambered a shell by punching both tonfa towards the floor. The weapons gave an identical metallic scraping noise as the slides and mechanisms slid over each other and locked into position.

"But now, this is happening. Oh well." Ákos growled. "I hope you're ready for the beating of your life."

"Shut up and fight, Altair." Glynda returned, settling into a duelist's stance with her crop pointed at him.

"Fine." Ákos snarled. "Let's dance!"

The Faunus' arms became a blur of motion, each forward strike punctuated by a thunderous blast and a hail of shotgun pellets. When his shells were depleted, he thumbed a button on both tonfa. The strike cylinders both opened on the far end and ejected a small metal baton, identical to those that decorated the veteran's back. The spent cartridges landed on his coat. With motions born from years of hard-earned experience, Ákos angled the empty barrels and slid them over the spare ammo cylinders, wrenching them into place and chambering another round in the same moment.

The teacher summoned up a round shield made of pink energy with a wave of her crop. The hail of pellets ricocheted off of the shimmering barrier and blasted into the concrete floor, cracking it for the second time that day. While Ákos swapped out the ammo cores in his weapons, Glynda tore several small chunks of debris from the floor with her Semblance and launched them at the Faunus.

Ákos thrust a tonfa at the flying concrete, but he didn't fire his weapon. Instead, a tangible pulse of kinetic energy burst from his outstretched hand, sending the airborne concrete flying back at Glynda with double their original speed. The teacher growled and swiped at the rubble with her crop, shattering them into powder with barely a thought. With another wave, she reformed the concrete powder with some more material from the floor into a wave of spears, which she then launched at her opponent.

The Huntsman became a veritable windstorm, barely visible between his dodging, blasting, and repulsing of Glynda's projectiles. The witch simply formed more spears from the atomized remains and continued to launch them with blistering speed. It didn't take more than a few seconds for the entire arena to be filled with an expanding cloud of fine gray dust.

Suddenly, all sounds form within the cloud stopped. Glynda relented with her barrage of spears, but there was something wrong, some primal instinct warned her that the fight wasn't over yet. She raised a slab of concrete as a shield, not a moment too soon. A massive _wave_ of force pulsed through the arena, whipping the dust cloud into a frenzy of motion and cracking her hastily-made barricade. Ákos strode out of the dust cloud, snapping two fresh cartridges into his tonfa.

"That was a decent warm-up, Goodwitch. You've gotten rusty, all those years in the classroom dulled your skill?"

Glynda didn't even grace the taunt with a reply.

"Ready for round two?" the falcon Faunus continued with a crack of his neck.

With a wave of her crop, Glynda reformed the concrete dust that filled the air in choking clouds into a single, massive spike.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"I remember your limit, Altair! You can't repulse anything heavier than you!" Glynda shouted as she launched the obelisk at the veteran Huntsman with a swing of her weapon and a near-visible flare of purple Aura.

"And I didn't forget that a Huntsman is more than his Semblance!" Ákos retorted as he thrust his hands backwards and _launched _himself off the wall and over the missile. He hit the ground running and dashed forward. Before Glynda could aim her crop at him, he lashed out and struck her jaw with his left tonfa.

Glynda reeled back from the heavy impact of the weapon and the follow-up shotgun blast. The teacher's dense Aura shielded her from the worst of the damage, but she was still momentarily stunned. The falcon Faunus seized his advantage and closed the distance between them in less than a second. Before Glynda could regain her bearings, Ákos drew his right arm back in preparation for a strike to her midsection.

Just before Ákos' weapon struck home, an authoritative voice burst through the heavily-damaged arena room.

"Enough!"

Ákos stopped his weapon mere inches from Glynda's stomach. The pair of them remained frozen in their respective positions for a splintered moment before Glynda recovered her bearings and Ákos warily stepped out of his attack position and slid his tonfa back into his waist sheaths.

Ákos and Glynda turned in unison to the one that dared interrupt their fight, to find a very displeased-looking Ozpin leaning on his cane in the room's main entrance. The Headmaster deliberately stepped closer. With each step, the falcon Faunus could almost tangibly _feel_ the older man's anger and disappointment rolling off of him in waves.

"You should be ashamed, Glynda Goodwitch! Provoking your old rival into a fight for no justifiable reason mere hours after his return to Beacon is not how a Huntress or a teacher of your experience should act!"

The Headmaster turned to the veteran Huntsman with a look of equal disappointment.

"And you should know better than to react to her provocation, Ákos Altair! Think about what kind of example the two of you are setting for the students." The Headmaster sighed deeply. "Glynda, please fix the arena. Altair, we need to talk. Follow me."

The tall Faunus followed Ozpin out of the arena without a word, leaving behind a battered and disgruntled Glynda Goodwitch. Ákos threw a glance back over his shoulder at his old rival as he retrieved his coat, hat, and ammo cylinders. Their eyes locked for a brief moment.

_"We'll finish this later."_ Glynda's grass green eyes seemed to say.

_"Anytime, anywhere."_ Ákos' fierce yellow gaze returned.

**~AFT~**

Owen's brown eyes fluttered open. The dazed Faunus took in the unfamiliar sight of the plain white walls of Beacon Infirmary with a slight groan. His insides felt like they'd been crushed in a hydraulic press and then run over several times with a steamroller for good measure.

"You're awake! Thank Dust, I thought you'd be out for a lot longer!"

A concerned voice came from somewhere off to his right. Owen glanced over and saw his shortest teammate sitting in an uncomfortable-looking chair by the head of his bed.

"Wendy'? Wha' happened?"

The one in question shrugged. "Well, you fought Tai, the arena is a mess, and you both passed out and got taken to the Infirmary. They put you two in separate rooms, just in case…" they trailed off, obviously uncomfortable with saying 'in case you were still berserk' aloud.

"So… That was Rampage?" Wendelin continued, "I mean, I know you used it during Initiation, but I was a little too preoccupied to notice its effect."

"Uh… yea. Tha's wha' 'appens when Ah let maself go wild."

Wendelin was silent for a moment. "I didn't think that anyone was strong enough to fight Tai on equal terms, given what we saw of his Semblance during Initiation. I'm impressed."

Owen shrugged guiltily. "T'weren't nothin' ta be proud of. Ah gave in, an' let my anger get tha best o' me."

"But it's still remarkable how much strength your Semblance gives you." Wendelin replied, "It might even let you get stronger than anyone else ever has!"

"Yeh don't unnerstan'! Whenever Ah lose control to _it_, people could get _hurt_! Wha' good is _strength_ compared ta that? 'S a miracle tha' Tai could stop me! The only other one that could was mah big sis Connie!"

"Just because you _could _hurt someone, doesn't mean you _want _to or that you _will._" The tiny ice wielder shot back. "Back during Initiation, you told me that my Semblance can't control me, only I can control it. But it goes further than that! You can't_ reject_ your Semblance, even if you don't like it, because it is part of who you are! We all have the potential to hurt others, Owen, what matters is that we can _choose not to_!"

Owen deflated. "Ya'll make it soun' so... easy…"

"It's not. And I know it's not." Wendelin replied softly, "But my mom always said that anything worth doing doesn't come easy, and she's right. Luckily," Wendelin held up a band of woven white cloth, "There's nothing wrong with a helping hand every now and then. Give me your arm."

The diminutive student wrapped the cloth around Owen's wrist and tied it loosely.

"That's the first prototype of the Spinnerling cloth. It might not be as effective as the raw stuff, but it's better than nothing. Should help you dampen your Semblance enough to control it better."

Owen blushed at the close contact, despite the corona of chill air the smaller student exuded. Few, if any, humans had ever willingly gotten so close to him, let alone touched him. Given that Wendelin's general vicinity was quite a bit colder than everywhere else, it was somewhat impressive that Owen managed to blush at all.

"Let me know if it helps, yeah?" Wendelin requested.

Owen fought back his embarrassment long enough to nod. The awkward silence was broken by Tyrian poking his head through the door.

"Hey guys, Just wanted to let you know that Tai's up and already itching for a rematch, Conway, Wen, and River are back, and we wanted to know if you wanted to study for the next History test with us? I know a good spot."

Wendelin and Owen shared a glance.

"That sounds great Tyrian, lead the way." Wendelin replied while Owen nodded.

"Yeh, cn't aff'rd tah waste any more time layin' around."

**~AFT~**

It was a tense and silent ride up to the Headmaster's office. The man himself wasn't in a particularly talkative mood, and Ákos was more than happy to reciprocate his silence.

If the older man was waiting for an apology, he would be waiting a long time, Ákos decided. Finally. After an interminable silence the elevator doors slid open, allowing the two occupants into Ozpin's office.

The headmaster took a seat at his desk, where a fresh pot of some mysterious liquid, probably coffee, judging from the smell, waited for him. He poured himself a fresh cup and gestured to the pot with a meaningful glance at the taller man. Ákos ignored him in favor of stalking over to one of the large windows that overlooked Vale. How the headmaster could stand the constant motion of the gears and annoying ticking noise was beyond him. At least the view was nice.

Ozpin noticed the dark look on his former student's visage and wisely allowed the younger man a further moment to calm down before he even attempted to start their conversation.

"You didn't have to step in, Ozzy. I had it handled."

"I'm sure that Glynda would say the same thing, Ákos." The headmaster returned as he rolled his eyes at the nickname, "But what possessed you to fight with her? It wasn't old business, was it?"

Ákos scoffed. "No, it wasn't that. Just some comments she made." At Ozpin's raised eyebrow, the falcon shrugged. "Nothin' you need to worry about, I know how to contain myself. She was just spoilin' for a fight, 's all, so I gave her one. That's all there is to it."

Ozpin's eyebrow raised another few millimeters, but he let the subject go. Changing tack, he asked, "Well. Onto the reason I asked you here, then. What have you discovered about Cross's plans?"

"Straight to the point, huh Ozzy? That's not like you." Ákos remarked as he turned to face the gray-haired man. He continued with a slight chuckle at the older man's deadpan expression. "Not as much as I'd like, all I really know for sure is that he is looking for something. Something that he thinks might be here, in Vale. And before you get your knickers in a twist, it's not the Maiden you have on life support in the basement either."

Ozpin's impassive gaze faltered. "How did you find out about her?"

The headmaster stiffened almost imperceptibly. Ákos chuckled a bit before he fished a package of cigarettes from his coat pocket. The old man had always been like this, even during the falcon's school days. True, he had a good poker face, but it was obvious when something caught him off-guard. At least, it was obvious if the observer had the eyes of a falcon, he thought with a smirk. Ákos put the box of cancer-sticks back in his pocket when he caught Ozpin's disapproving gaze.

"Word gets around." Ákos replied vaguely. "Besides, I didn't know she was here 'til you confirmed it for me just now. Anyway, I might not be a member of your little 'Brotherhood,' but do you honestly think one of the Four can go missing and no one would notice? Add to that the rumors of a mysterious woman with 'weird powers' circulating in the underbelly of Vale and... well… let's just say I put two and two together."

"Oh relax, Ozzy." He patronized while he pulled a small, battered journal bound with creased black leather out of the same pocket. "Only the ones who still believe in that old legend and had a bit of less-than-common knowledge could have pieced it together. Anyway, back to Cross. I do know that whatever he's looking for, he's already found at least part of it. I don't know for sure, but I think its part of another old legend," The falcon Faunus quickly flipped through pages, before stopping on one close to the middle of the book, "Here we go, The Sage's Staff."

At Ozpin's confused look, Ákos backpedaled. "Wait, you mean you don't know what it is? What it can do?"

"Should I?"

"Geez, Oz, I thought you were the one who made Myths and Folklore a required third-year class back in my schooldays." Ákos gave a chirpy chuckle.

"Humor me." Ozpin was less amused than his former student.

"Alright, fine." Ákos said, "What do you know about the Sage?"

"Just assume I don't and start from the beginning."

"Well. A lot of what I really know is hearsay, since it isn't actually all that well-documented. The gist of it is that there was once a wise man, or a Sage, as they were once called, who lived alone in a forest, secluded from the rest of the world. One day, a pair of brothers, Caelum and Tellus, came to learn from him. There is a whole 'nother story that focuses on them, called '_The War of Brothers_.' Some who study that legend say it's an account of the split between Vacuo and Vale. To make two incredibly long stories ludicrously short, when the Sage eventually died, Caelum and Tellus fought over which of them would take possession of the Sage's staff, which they believed to be the source of his incredible power."

"The reason the Sage was so respected and feared was due to his purported ability to pacify, tame, and even direct the Creatures of Grimm."

Ozpin leaned forward in his seat, cup of coffee temporarily forgotten in light of this new information. "While that is an intriguing story, how does it tie back to Cross and his organization?"

"I've heard rumors that he's moved their base of operations from Vacuo. According to the legends, that is where the disciples fell. I'm not really sure where Cross has set up shop, but it's probably somewhere off the coast of Vale. The only reasons Cross would move is if it gave him an advantage of some kind, or if he already had what he came for. All the signs point to something big going down in Vale, probably within the next few months or so."

"What makes you say that?"

"I cornered one of his henchmen in Kuroyuri who told me some interesting things." The falcon revealed, "Apparently, Cross was in Mistral a few weeks ago with a sensitive contact, and had sent word to the rest of the organization to pack up and ship out, but when I tried to press for details on where they were going, he got hit by a dart. He managed to say one more word before he died."

Ákos paused. "Farrago."

Ozpin picked up his ever-present mug and took a sip from the steaming beverage within.

"I almost got hit by the next one, but I got lucky when a gust of wind pushed it off course. I took cover, but saw someone swinging over a rooftop. I'm pretty sure that it was Cross's hitman, Thorn. I had to hightail it out of there before someone found me standing over a corpse and got the wrong idea, and then I had to leave the city because his other agents were onto me. Had to spend a favor with Hermes to get outta there."

The headmaster placed his cup down and leaned on his desk. "So. There is another unknown element at work here, even beyond the threat of Cross."

"I don't know," Ákos said with a noncommittal shrug. "But it doesn't really matter. If this 'Farrago' were a member of Cross's organization, they'd have already been spotted somewhere by now. They're probably a supplier, or a financial backer, or something like that." The falcon Faunus crossed his arms. "And that's all I've got. The question is, what now?"

Ozpin pondered Ákos' query for a moment. "I want you to stay in Vale for the next few weeks. If Cross is truly coming here, then I need you to be close enough to deploy."

"Fine by me, I've gotta wait for the heat in Mistral to die down anyway. Probably shouldn't show my face there for a while." Ákos shrugged, "Be nice to be at home for a while too. That'll give me a chance to spend some time with Wisty at least. It's been too long."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that, but…"

"I know, Ozpin." The Faunus interrupted, "This is important, potentially fate of the world, or at least fate-of-a-kingdom, stuff. Wisty understands that." Ákos looked out the window again, spotting Teams CROW and SUIT sitting in the shade of a distant tree, while Zsazsa soared on a thermal above. "I just hope the new generation won't have to go through what mine did."

"As do we all, Ákos. You have my word that I will protect them as long as I am able."

"It's what comes afterwards that concerns me."

**~AFT~**

_Author's Note_

_Fun Fact# 40: __ Kuroyuri is a non-canon city in Mistral. Look up what it means in Hanakotoba.  
_

_Fun Fact# 41: __**Sensei**__ means __**teacher**__, or more literally '__**person who was born before another'**_

_Fun Fact #42: These aren't stopping anytime soon. _

_Fun Fact #43: Not sure if this is canon or not, but I find it hard to believe that two Semblances, powered by Aura (which is effectively the SOUL), would not have some bleed over from what amounts to two souls clashing. _

_Fun Fact #44: Amber can create pretty much whatever she wants with her Construct. She prefers hexagons and shapes made of hexagons, since they are easier for her. Functionally, the only real limitation on Construct is the amount of Aura she has at any given point. _

_Fun Fact #45: __**Kyokukodageki**__ means something like __**'Sunrise Strike,'**__ and __**Nensho Ookami no Shinku Kaitai Ken**__ means something like __**'Burning Wolf's Crimson Demolition Fist.'**_

_Fun Fact #46: Zsazsa is a Hungarian word that means 'lily'_

_Fun Fact #47:In an animated world, Ákos would probably be voiced by Nathan Fillion.  
_

_So I'll see you next time in RWBY: A Fox's Tale: Chapter 10: Forever Falling _

_Special thanks go to __**AgntNevada **__and __**Freezingreality **__for getting me motivated to finish this at long last, and to my beta __**Alsc Petrelli Winchester Stark**._

_As always, please leve a review, it really brightens my day. _

_TorchPhilosopher Out._

_Edited 11/12/2016_


	10. Chapter 10

AFT: Temp Chapter

Well, It's not the chapter 10 you were waiting for, And I'm sorry for that. BUT! Before you start throwing full wine bottles at your computer screen, this is a notice of the entire fic having received a massive overhaul, so that's something, yeah?  
A lot of characters have gotten new names that better fit the RWBY naming rule, and dialogue has undergone a few changes as well.  
Hope you enjoy!  
Rest assured, I'll continue work on the real chapter 10 as soon as I can, and when it is ready, I'll replace this one.  
Happy Thanksgiving!

Please Read and Review,  
TorchPhilosopher


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